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ITALIAN BERSAGLIERI THE BATTLE OF NEW ROSS

First look at these new plastics In a free form style

WORLD WAR TWO DESERT WAR: Painting, Modelling, And Gaming

 wargames illustrated issue WI417 september 2022
FEATURED
THIS MONTH

from the editor

After a couple of months without a bagged gift we decided to hit you hard with a haul of possible
freebie frames this month. Courtesy of our friends at Warlord Games you will have received one of four
splendid sprues: British Commonwealth Infantry, British 8th Army, Afrika Korps, or Italian Infantry and
Blackshirts. If you didn’t get the one you wanted - quick, get back to the shop and buy another copy of
the magazine!
All of these minis are suitable for your Bolt Action WWII adventures in the desert. Desert warfare has
been described as a tactician’s paradise and a quartermaster’s nightmare, and this was evident in North
Africa in 1940-43. As wargamers, we tend to be less concerned with the supply issues and delight in the
The Desert War
nuances of the combat. Although harsh, the desert battlefield was almost devoid of interference, allowing
in miniature ............................ 42
the professional skills of the soldier to be applied tactically for purely military purposes, something that
we can bring to the tabletop in our games.
On page 30, our resident painter Callum brings you a guide to getting your free figures desert-ready in no
time at all, and we have hat-trick of further forays into the sun with articles on building Biscari Airfield,
an excellent 10mm Desert War figure collection, and Rommel’s Favourites - the Bersaglieri.
I would also like to point you in the direction of our Historicon 2022 report - it’s great to see this grand
old convention firmly back on its feet again after last year’s lockdown curtailed event.
Dan Faulconbridge
Owner and Editor
This month’s cover artwork: Bersaglieri by Neil Roberts.
Below: The Battle of Gazala in 10mm/12mm by Dr David B James. See more on page 42.
The Battle
of Trautenau ........................ 48

ROMMEL’S FAVOURITES ......... 54

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contents
QUIcK FIRE! .......................................... 8
Modelling snippets from your fellow
wargamers.
OBSERVATION POST ........................ 12
Your monthly roundup of notable new
releases in the hobby.
RELEASE RADAR ................................ 20
Dom Sore scans the ether for quality or
quirky new wargames products.
FULL PAPER JACKET ......................... 26
Neil Smith’s look at forthcoming book
releases that would be worthy recipients of
your shelf space.
theme: Frame focus -
North Africa painting
part one: tabletop ready ....... 30
Callum grabs this issue’s four free Warlord
Games frames and shows us how he
achieved great results in no time at all.
Horses for Courses .................... 38
Napoleonic gamer Jack Travis checks
out how the new Victrix British Heavy
Dragoons measure up against the other
Heavy Dragoon plastics on the market.
theme: The Desert War
in miniature ................................... 42
Dr David B James has been working on his
10mm/12mm WWII desert warfare figures
for over a decade. Wi recently visited The
Worcester Wargames Club, where David is
a member, and snapped some photos of his
inspiring collection. Here David tells us all
about them.
The Battle of Trautenau ....... 48
Inspired by our June 2022 magazine theme,
The Prussian Empire, Colonel (Retired)
Bill Gray introduces us to the great gaming
potential offered by a little-known battle THE GLOSTERS’ LAST STAND -
fought on 27 June 1866, during the Austro- PART two ....................................... 62
Prussian War.
theme:
Rommel’s Favourites .................. 54
Dom Sore looks at the Bersaglieri, dapper
looking Italian elites who made a huge
impact during the World War Two North
Africa campaign.
THE GLOSTERS’ LAST STAND -
PART two .......................................... 62
In our last issue, Charles Rowntree showed
us how to recreate the landscape around
the River Imjin in Korea, this time he talks
about gaming over his lovingly crafted Building Biscari Airfield -
tabletop contours. Sicily 1943 ...................................... 70
theme:
Building Biscari Airfield -
Sicily 1943 .......................................... 70
Anschluss Wargames’ Peter (Bunny)
Warren takes us through the build process
for this highly detailed 12mm scale demo
game made for Partizan, May 2022.
The joy of six -
show report .................................. 76
Editor Dan travels to Sheffield, England to
indulge in The Joy of Six.
The joy of six -
the battle of new ross ........... 80 show report ............................... 76
Following on from last month free form
gaming article, Pete Brown presents a
battle fought in that unrestricted style.
Historicon 2022 .......................... 88
Our stateside roving reporter Dave Taylor
heads to the biggest historical wargaming
convention of the year and reports back on
some of his favourite games.
the battle of new ross ........ 80
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5
 QUICK FIRE!
Short, quick-read posts from Wi readers about their hobby projects, notes, news, and observations.

TALES OF THE RIVERBANK

By Tim Lee
Inspired by Wi396’s riverine warfare theme, I thought I would make a river for my 6mm Napoleonic armies to cross and was
delighted to find that Warbases do a starter set of river pieces for a very reasonable price.
I ordered some straight away, and looking
at the various shapes that make up around
three metres of river, I did consider just
painting them as they were; however, I
felt that the excellent pieces deserved
better than that.
1) I mixed up some of my home-made
basing compound of ready-mixed filler
and PVA glue, leaving out the sand or
grit I would normally add for basing
purposes. This was spread evenly on one
side of the river pieces; then with a clay
tool, I scored some wavy lines in the mix
to represent the moving water. I wasn’t
too worried about the shapes or patterns I
made as long as the marks were generally
in the direction the water would flow.

2) I picked up cheap darker and lighter blue acrylic paints and applied the
lighter blue along the sides of the pieces, then I painted the darker blue down
the middle where the water would be deeper. Painting the second blue while
the first was still wet allowed the two to mix freely and created a gradual
darkening of the water.
3) Once dry, I added some white to the tops of the waves and stippled some
around the rocks and fords. I also decided to add some simple riverbanks by
painting a brown line along each side. I could have added some flock but felt
the ‘muddy’ brown riverbanks were sufficient.
After the paint was dry, it was time to varnish. I chose a cheap, hardwearing
gloss varnish, so that the ‘water’ would catch the light and a matt varnish for
the riverbanks; and there you have it, a simple but effective river!

2
Encouraged by my initial results, I
decided to be a bit more adventurous 3
and added small stones on some
pieces and placed grit on two pieces
to make fords.
Once the mix had dried, I tidied up
the edges where I had been a bit
overenthusiastic with the filler, and
then it was time to paint them. I had
wondered whether I should go with a
stylised blue river or a more realistic
green/brown; eventually, I decided
on blue, which I think is traditional
and easily recognised by wargamers
everywhere.

8
3D PRINTING IN 6mm
By Gareth Beamish
I’ve recently been working on a 6mm project for
fighting some of the smaller battles of the Sengoku
Jidai. The figure to man ratio that I’ll be using is very
low; from one figure equals five men down to 1:1, and
the units will consist of anything from 15 to 50 figures,
so the armies will still use quite a lot of figures.
I’m concentrating on the 1550s to 1560s to begin
with. Armies of this time would have been organised
as feudal entities: a lord, some of his family and
household, and however many extra men he managed
to raise. These men would all have a mix of arms
and equipment, so there are some challenges with
modelling this on the tabletop, both in terms of rules
and in the units themselves. [Gareth has articles that
look at unit organisation in Wi408 and Wi411 - Ed]
Until recently, there haven’t been any 6mm Sengoku
Jidai ranges with the variety of figures to convey the
sense of a mixed band of men, but this has changed
with the advent of 3D printing. The figures used here
are designed by Project Wargaming and printed for me
by Sabotag3d. The figures as designed are the typical
late-16th/early-17th Century figures familiar from the
Osprey books, but with 6mm it’s possible to increase
the variety of the unit and to convey a sense of an
earlier period army; conical helmets can be painted as
straw hats, lower legs and arms can be painted as bare
flesh, etc. For the later armour, I usually just paint it as
the lacquer colour, usually black, but here I’ve painted
some with more colourful laced armour to represent
older styles.

CHANGING THE ARMY

WITH COMMAND
Because of the less organised
nature of these earlier armies,
I’ve created the base units
as ‘generic’ ones rather than
having all the figures wearing
sashimono with clan mon that
I used for my large battle units.
A specific command stand
can then be added to the units
to represent different armies.
In this way, a generic pool of
several hundred figures can
be used for any clan army
by painting a hundred or so
command figures to bolt onto
the individual units.
The idea is shown in these
images, where the same
figures can be an Oda army
or an ikkō-ikki army through
the addition of the relevant
command groups.

9
 OBSERVATION
POST New and forthcoming wargames
stuff you need to know about

RULES, SUPPLEMENTS, FIGURES, TERRAIN, HOBBY GEAR, AND MORE

PEN & SWORD - WARGAMING CAMPAIGNS

Have you ever considered running a wargames campaign but didn’t really know how to
go about it? If so, Henry Hyde has you covered in his Wargaming Campaigns. Hyde’s
stated emphasis is on the ‘overriding priority… to explore…the practical, rather than
the theoretical.’ It follows that he provides loads of advice here, contained in over 500
pages of text organised into 14 well-illustrated chapters.
The author begins by extolling the virtues of miniature campaigns, then sets up a simple
medieval campaign to illustrate his main themes. There are ten of those, all helpfully
colour-coded for reference purposes. The first is Campaign Generalship, beginning with
a definition and broken down into a series of questions that are each given explanations.
Hyde follows with a set of campaign rules, March to Glory, covering fully 50 pages.
It isn’t clear why this chapter arrives so early in proceedings when so many of the
mechanics have still to be explained, but we shall soldier on into the next chapter.
The next chapter is about creating maps to fight over and a variety of tools for this essential campaign component are offered
They range from using playing cards to drawing from historical and OS maps to computer software. Hyde certainly emphasizes
practicality here as he shows you how to create strategic maps that then focus down onto your battlefields when forces meet. He
also covers space mapping for sci-fi games. The role of the umpire follows. He also attaches his thoughts on solo-campaigning to
this chapter.
‘We the people’ surveys options for the characters that will inhabit your campaign at the command level, particularly their
backgrounds and motivations. This is an essential aspect of story-telling, argues Hyde. Then he downsizes to consider skirmish and
roleplaying campaigns. The essential characteristic for those is to build personalities for all the active figures, neatly dovetailing
these two chapters in the process. Hyde also considers programmed campaigns and options for climate and weather here. Naval and
air power occupy the next two chapters, both dealt with comprehensively, in keeping with the rest of this book.
So far, most of this book could have been written in the 20th Century, and you would hardly notice. But the next chapter examines
how you can use the internet and social media in your campaigns, with an interesting diversion on wargaming during a pandemic.
Then the author brings everything together in a chapter titled ‘Making Campaigns Work’; the example he uses is a fictitious nations
campaign, which reads like an extended AAR that not everyone will appreciate. Although the book seems to conclude here there are
two more chapters. The first covers three exemplary wargame campaigns from prominent wargamers of a bygone era: Tony Bath,
Charles Grant, and Ron Miles. The second is an annotated litany of resources you can use for your campaigns, including books
and websites.

There is no doubting the effort that Henry Hyde has put into this tome,
and he provides comprehensive coverage for those willing to take the
plunge into the world of wargames campaigns. There are certainly a lot
DETAILS of ideas here, and useful references to develop them or find more. The
many photographs, maps, and illustrations add to the overall effect. Hyde
• Scale: Various deploys a chatty tone in his writing, highlighting his clear enthusiasm for
• Period: Various his subject, which many readers will find easy on the eye; although some
less charitable might observe that Hyde rarely writes a sentence where
a paragraph will do the job. ‘Old school’ wargamers will appreciate this
• Price: £40/$70
• Format: 528-page hardback book more than the ‘new breed’, I suspect, partly because the way it is written,
• Available from: pen-and-sword.co.uk and partly because they will more readily appreciate the many references
to wargamers’ work from an earlier age in the hobby’s development.
Nevertheless, I think every wargamer with an interest in campaign gaming
will enjoy this book and gain much insight from it.

12
GREY FOR NOW - TEST OF HONOUR ROGUES

Grey for Now owner Graham Davey must be a SKILLS AND TRAITS DETAILS
very busy man; he somehow found the energy to • Scale: 28mm
The Widow will become a bigger threat when her
sculpt this excellent new force for Test of Honour,
ongoing Whirl of Blades Skill activates and grants • Period: Sengoku Japan
playtest them, write their profiles, and get them
her a Twin Strike bonus, while the Brute’s Pile On
boxed up and sent to us, all while launching his • Price: £35
lets him and models within 6" deal more damage
new WWII game 02 Hundred Hours [reviewed • Material: Metal
to prone enemies.
last issue; battle report between Graham and
Wi Project Manager James next issue - Ed]. Traits add further character to your force, and • WEBSITE: greyfornow.com
Rather than skimp on the designs to save himself with Heartless, Vile, No Mercy, and Laggards
some time, Graham’s created one of the most available, there’s no hiding that these warriors
characterful 28mm sets we’ve seen for gaming in skew to the ‘baddies’ side of things! Laggards
Sengoku Japan. allows your models extra moves, often
due to their drunkenness, while Fearful Follow
Test of Honour’s usual mix of inspiration can be ers
1
Heartless models are unperturbed
seen in these Rogues: historical influences and pop Once per Battle
by the sight of their comrades being At the end

er
of the action
culture archetypes mix to make a ragtag bunch of third Dishon when you gai
our card, one n you

The Sign all

of your follow r
cut down. makes a free
action.
ers
eight intriguing characters. Various individuals will
be recognisable whether you’re familiar with them It’s been a while since there was a
through Japanese literature and legends or from new release for Test of Honour; we n +1 dice
on a Tes
t
ents gai er the table.
reinforcem ent
kung fu movies: the stingy looking Paymaster; don’t think fans will be disappointed Friendly s (or Honour) to
of Wit
battle, frie
nd s wit hin 6” gain
h the dar
kne
+1 dice
ss.
In a night ts to see throug
t Class
the bold Drunk; the enigmatic Drifter; and the by this set, which brings a lot of on tes
Unarmo
ured, Kat
ana, Law
less, Peasan

dangerous, twin blade-wielding Widow. character to the game. The figures 4 4 2 1

RR-8
COMMAN
DER
3 3 +1
are excellent, and the new abilities, RR-12
UA-13

All are Lawless and (except for the Widow, who is

particularly the double-sided Witch
a Samurai) all are Peasant class, but this is where
Skill (see Under the Microscope), have
similarities end. The Archer is a nimble ranged
us excited to get back to gaming in ancient Japan.
specialist, leaping around the board without the
need to take Agility tests. The musket armed
Drunkard is the warband’s random element and 1
rolls a randomising dice before firing; he may 2 3
shoot friendly models, but this risk is offset by
the chance of taking a more damaging shot or
immediately reloading after firing. The spear
armed Drifter has the potential to swing the tide
of battle at a pivotal moment through his extra
charge, which can be made once per game, while
the Paymaster buffs the Test of Honour rolls taken
by other Lawless or Unaligned warriors.

4 5 6 7
1) Brute
2) Widow
3) Archer
4) Signaller
5) Paymaster
6) Drunkard
7) Drifter

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

THE WITCH
Arguably the best model in this set, the Witch also has the most
4 Unmasked R ad interesting new rule. Her Skill card is double-sided, a first for Test of
iance
Ongoing, The
Witch only Honour, which means that she always has ‘something’ going on. The
The Witch

Choose whic
h
the battle and side of this card to be

n. Only the
face-
action. This before making each Mov up at the start of
cann e,
or Charge actioot be changed until the Shoot or Charge
next Move,
reason for the two-sided card is her mask; during the game, the Witch
face-up side Shoo
Friendly follo has an effec t

dice in any
wer
s within 6”
test with a
can re-roll
one
t.
will be either masked or unmasked, and that choice will determine if
Count as as result.
armed with
a thrown wea
pon.
the Demonic Mask or Unmasked Radiance Skill is in play.
Although she is listed as unarmed, the Skill choice changes that
Demonic Mas
k/
Starts with the iance skill card.
Rad
considerably. The Witch strikes with a heavy sword if she is using the
Unmasked
Unarmoured,
Lawless, Peas
ant Class
Demonic Mask Skill and gets +1 to her melee rolls. Should she use
5 3 2 MYSTICAL
Unmasked Radiance (the card can be flipped whenever she activates),
4 4+1 3 RR-2

she counts as armed with a basic throwing weapon but can inspire
other friendly models, allowing them re-rolls.

13
 DANIEL’S GAMES EMPORIUM - ARMOURED STORM: THE DESERT WAR 1941-1942
Daniel Mersey is on a wargaming tear in
2022: Lion Rampant Second Edition, the
update of his popular medieval game, is
hot off the press at Osprey Games; Age of
Penda - the first in his ‘You Command’
series of rules - was released a few
months ago along with a new range of
7th Century British figures [see more
on Wiglaf Miniatures in Wi413 - Ed];
and he’s back this month with Armoured
Storm: The Desert War 1941-1942, the
second in the ‘You Command’ series.
This downloadable PDF is perfectly
timed to coincide with our issue’s Desert
Warfare theme; it offers a new, easy
to learn, and exciting way to play the
mechanised combat of WWII’s desert
battles. Intended for home printing,
this is a downloadable black and white
PDF rather than a physical book, which
explains the function over looks layout.
It puts the focus squarely on having fun
with tanks on the tabletop. The author
recognises that infantry played a part in
many of WWII’s desert battles, but he
does away with them to ensure nothing
detracts from the armoured warfare. In
the introduction, he’s quick to mention
that this is not a simulation wargame;
anyone who cares about specifics such as
armour thickness, deflection, theoretical
max ranges, and the like might want
to look elsewhere. If you’re less
obsessive about the details and into the
idea of playing a game focused on the
excitement of tank companies churning
up the desert sand in an accessible way,
then this could be for you.
TACTICS TAKE THE LEAD
The engine pulsing away at the heart of
Armoured Storm’s gameplay is the Tactics
Chart. This is the unique selling point
of the ‘You Command’ series and was
first presented in Age of Penda. While
the tactical actions vary greatly between
Age of Penda’s 7th Century combat and
Armoured Storm’s WWII options, the
functionality is much the same; this is a
smart way to design a series of games and
will allow players to shift between periods
and rulesets easily. No matter what part
of the world gameplay is set, or what
period the rules reflect, things will feel
familiar (thanks to the Chart’s established
control system) yet different (thanks to
the varying on-tabletop elements that are
played with figures and dice).
Before pushing any units around, players
take turns to place Tactics Tokens on
the off-battlefield Tactics Chart. There
are 12 possible options to choose from,
and only when all Tactics Tokens have
been placed on the Tactics Chart does the
14
game progress to the first turn’s Action
Phase. The number of Tokens to place
varies depending on the quality of the
in-game commanders and discrepancies
in force size, but each player will usually
get between three and five Tokens to
begin with.
Once an option is picked with a Token it
is claimed, and your opponent is denied
the chance of choosing it for themselves
in the current turn. This means that rather
than just pick what you want, you’ll also
start to consider what your opponent may
have planned and try to scupper their
intentions. If you have an equally cunning
opponent who does the same, choosing
options to deny a strategy they’ve spotted
you developing on the tabletop, you’ll
need to adapt your intentions there too.
PUTTING PLANS INTO ACTIONS
The figure pushing begins with the player
who has the initiative; they choose one
of their Tactics Tokens and nominate the
unit/s that are going to perform whatever
choices are available through that Token.
A single unit can only be activated once
per Tactic Token, but you can choose
to activate that same unit with the next
Tactic Token you use, and so on; so if
you want to create a ‘super platoon’ that
does loads in a turn, you can! Balancing
the choices across your force, which
tends to be made up of between 15 and 30
tanks plus some HQ
vehicles, is often the
best option though.
Tests are simple
DETAILS
to complete - a • Scale: 1/300 to 20mm
basic D10 roll with • Period: WWII
some modifiers
determines just
• Price: $5.99
about everything • Format: 30-page PDF
- and line of sight,
• Available from: wargamevault.com
arcs, facing, and
more are designed
to be scale and basing agnostic. This
makes for a very ‘friendly’ set of rules
regardless of the tank collection you
might already have; you’ll have no
problem transitioning to Armoured
Storm.
Range is measured in increments of
‘distance’, which varies depending
on the scale of your figures. If a
unit is within maximum range (ten
measurement distances), it can be
shot at, and you must roll equal to
or higher than the range (with any
modifiers applied) to hit. A roll of
one will always fail, while a ten will
always succeed. With a single distance
measuring 5cm at 1/300 scale up to
15cm at 20mm, you’ll rarely be out
of range, but your accuracy will be
enhanced if you play a bold strategy
and get closer. This will, of course,
make it easier for the enemy to hit you
in return, so there’s a good bit of risk
and reward to balance.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
There’s not too much more to it. The
book’s intentionally utilitarian in
its design, so we can’t recommend
Armoured Storm to anyone wanting
to luxuriate in the pleasure of flicking
through a pretty publication packed
with background, stories, illustrations,
or inspiring photos; this is designed to
be printed out, save on excess paper
and ink, and help you get gaming
quickly.
The focus on functionality is obvious
in the limited page count and simplicity
of the rules. Where other games might
bring layers of technical detail and
obsess over the minutiae of desert-
based tank combat, there’s little of that
here. The nuances of Armoured Storm’s
gameplay come through maximising
the effectiveness of your chosen Tactic
Tokens during each turn and being
ready to adapt your plans when needed;
if you have the right mindset, you’ll be
able to add narrative beats to fit what’s
happening tactically.
 UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
THE ORDERS
Taking up a quarter of the choices on the Tactics Chart are three matching options to ‘Fire’ with up to two units (1). These will
be most useful in the mid-game period, allowing you to open up with your tanks’ guns and hopefully do some damage.
You could take a more considered approach and pick the single ‘Good Shooting’ option (2), which limits you to firing with
just one unit but gives your rolls a +2 to hit and to damage. Should you be greedy and want to move and shoot, then the ‘Fire
& Manoeuvre’ option (3) gives maximum versatility to one unit, but its movement will have a reduced max speed of 2 and the
shooting will have a -1 modifier to hit.
The three manoeuvre options on the Chart are all different: move up to three units (4), move up to two (5), and move up to two
or fire with one (6). Clearly the two units is the ‘worst’ of the choices, but if your opponent denies you the other options, you
might need to pick it. The manoeuvre choices will vanish particularly quickly in the opening turns, where both sides want to
move as much as possible.
The final options offer extra flavour to the gameplay and ‘Go Hull Down’ (7) is the one that could be hotly contested at different
stages of the battle when things get destructive. It allows a unit to use cover, and quite interestingly, doesn’t need a physical
representation of terrain on the board to be used; the assumption is that the unit has found an undulation in the ground and
will be at -2 to hit.
‘Recover’ (8) is another option that could be incredibly important as it applies to all units, allowing them to remove damage by
rolling a dice. ‘Command’ (9) is interesting in that it essentially allows you to pick from other options but with less efficiency
than if you had committed to them in the Tactics Phase. Finally, if you want to lead the way, ‘Seize the initiative’ (10) is a way to
ensure you begin the next turn’s actions first.

2 1

TACTICS CHART

MANOEUVRE GOOD FIRE RECOVER

4 SHOOTING
All of your units
8
2 units
1 unit
3 units

7 1
MANOEUVRE GO HULL FIRE COMMAND
DOWN
Chose 1 action

5 2 units 2 units
from list
9
1 unit

3 1
MANOEUVRE FIRE & FIRE SEIZE THE
2 units MANOEUVRE INITIATIVE

6 FIRE
OR
1 unit
2 units
10
1 unit

o
o
o
o
o

That’s not to say there aren’t characterful details within the rules:
the loss of units reduces your number of Tactics Tokens in the
following turns; gradual attritional damage has a real impact
on a unit’s combat effectiveness; there are optional rules for
Strongpoints, ATG Strikes, Air Strikes, Smoke, and Minefields;
and tanks have special rules (based around size and reliability)
as well as Allied, German, and Italian variation. Quite a lot for
30-pages!
The real appeal of Armoured Storm, however, is that it offers two
very important things to potential players; both of which make it
easy to recommend:
1) The ability to grab whatever collection of WWII tanks you
might have, skim through the no-frills rules, and get playing your
first game in no time at all.
2) A continuing tactical challenge after you have played plenty of
games and know the rules inside out.

15
 WARLORD GAMES - A GENTLEMAN’S WAR BOLT ACTION STARTER

The latest Bolt Action Starter Set

arrives packed with figures that
perfectly fit our WWII Desert
Warfare theme. This bargain of a
box includes the plastic options
to make compact Desert Rats and
Afrika Korps forces, perfect to take
into the Western Desert, as well as a
small-form rulebook, dice, counters,
templates, and a special Gentleman’s War starter booklet.
It offers arguably the most balanced forces from the various Starter Sets Warlord
have produced. If it is indeed going to be your introduction to games of Bolt
Action, we think that the figures within will make for the perfect start. The plastic
goodies are not only great looking figures, but the two armies are a good match,
which should make for particularly enjoyable and competitive introductory
games.
THE GRUNTS ON THE GROUND
Each side gets 24 infantry, and although these are not new figures,
DETAILS
the excellent frames will help you to make some great looking • Scale: 28mm
figures with all kinds of weapon options. There’s even more visual • Period: WWII
variety thanks to variant parts on the British Commonwealth
• Price: £89/$107
Infantry frame - it includes alternate
heads to make Indians or Scottish • Material: Softback rulebook, hard plastic figures
Highlanders. • website: warlordgames.com

If you are a newbie and unsure how your force should be organised, then have no fear, there’s
an excellent
24-page full-colour booklet that will help you along. This introduces the theatre,
key characters and battles within it, and has a full guide to take you
through the build process for the figures. There’s clear advice on
exactly how to equip your HQ, support weapons, and rifle
sections/infantry squads to get them ready for gaming, which is
great news for anyone new to the game.
A TOUR THROUGH THE DESERT WAR
Three scenarios are included too, and while they aren’t
rich with historical detail, they are intelligently paced,
escalating as they go and (hopefully) as players get more
familiar with the rules. The first scenario is about small patrols
meeting in a chance Desert Encounter and uses just the infantry
and command from the set. The next game is Desert Assault, and
it ups the ante by adding the support weapons and an armoured
car to each side (that’s the full box contents; for more about
the brand new vehicles see Under the Microscope).
The final scenario - Desert War - challenges players to
construct their own 1,000 point armies, suggesting they
might look to the Starter Army sets for the 8th Army and
Afrika Korps. Rather than just a cunning marketing exercise,
this seems like a well-considered army building approach; each
of those additional sets combine beautifully with this Starter
Set by adding artillery and tank options as well as more of the
important infantry.
This box will be a perfect introduction to Bolt Action, but
it will also be ideal for any players who want to shift their
gaming to the intricacies of the ‘war without hate’ that
was fought in the desert. The only quibble we can raise
is the lack of scenery - previous Starter Sets included a
little something to decorate the battlefield - but that doesn’t stop
this from being great value and a really well-balanced set of figures. We
have a video on our YouTube channel that takes a closer look at the full
painted Starter Set, including the new armoured cars, so make sure to take a look at that!

16
 UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Build and painting
guide for the Humber
NEW PLASTIC ARMOURED CARS from the Gentleman’s
This Starter Set is the only way (for the time being) to War booklet.
get new plastic kits for the Sd.Kfz 222/223 and Humber
Mk II/IV armoured cars. These have previously
been available from Warlord as hefty resin and metal
models, but these plastics (rescaled from Italeri kits
to be suitable for gaming) are a vast improvement,
with more intricate detailing that goes down to the
underside of each vehicle.
Humber Mk II/IV Armoured Car
The Humber was a workhorse for the Allies, and it
came into its own in the desert thanks to its armour,
mobility, speed, and 15mm Besa machine gun laying
down fire. The Mk II turret is best suited to North
Africa, while the Mk IV option will be your choice if
you want to take the vehicle to Europe or the Far East.

Right: Humber Mk II Armoured Car.

Sd.Kfz 222/223 Armoured Car

The Afrika Korps get the Sd.Kfz 222, and
although we’re already quite partial to the kit of
this scouting car that Rubicon Models produce,
we are pleased to say that Warlord’s new version
impresses too. The Warlord model lacks some
of Rubicon’s complexity, but it makes up for that
in its ease of build and an impressive final look.
Should you want to, you can make the Sd.Kfz 223
option, a radio car that ditches the 2 cm KwK
30 L/55 autocannon in favor of a medium-range
radio set and frame antennae.
Above and below: Sd.Kfz 222 Armoured Car.

Above: The instructions show how to

make the 223 variant.

17
 WARLORD GAMES - SLÁINE COSMIC BATTLE BUNDLE

With Running Up That Hill charting at number one across the world almost 40 years after it was first released, ʼ80s nostalgia
is going strong in the 2020s. The tune’s prominence in the one of the biggest shows this year didn’t hurt Kate Bush’s current
success, of course, but we suspect that the folks at Warlord are rubbing their hands together in anticipation as their latest wargame
(based on legendary ʼ80s 2000AD comic series Sláine) gets a second wave of releases - the Cosmic Battle Bundle.
The musclebound, ultraviolent, fantasy barbarism presented in these new figures might not have much in common with Kate
Bush’s waifish qualities, but it certainly shares some DNA with Stranger Things’ latest season: over-the-top and sometimes quite
gruesome body horror elements that reek of that most elusive thing - nostalgia done well!

These are outstanding miniatures with

a visual style very different to many
found in the oversaturated field of
fantasy wargaming; that’s not an easy
achievement! Perhaps the success of
the Sláine range is in its mixture of
fantasy, folklore, and history. Perhaps it
is because these figures, more than any
we’ve seen so far, show off the quality
that can be achieved in Warlord Resin;
but for some slightly bendy weapons,
Above: The Badb with resin close up.
we can’t fault it, and the textures and
details present are outstanding. There’s
also the ʼ80s nostalgia factor; the
appeal of Sláine - a comic strip that is These figures, which take in some of
unashamedly ‘of its time’ with characters Sláine MacRoth’s alternate adventures,
built from muscles upon muscles, sell themselves with their great sculpts and
lashings of bare flesh and gore, and nostalgic appeal, but we’d be remiss if we
Sláine’s daft “Kiss my axe!” warcry - didn’t mention that each pack comes with
replicated in 28mm. the cards and bases you’ll need for gaming
purposes too, allowing you to tell your own
Sláine stories on the tabletop. We can’t fit
all of them into this review, so we’ve picked
some highlights; make sure to check out
360-degree spins of loads of these models on
our YouTube channel to get a better look at
the full bundle.
Above: Fomorian Sea
Demon champion.

Above: Drune Half Dead with resin detail shown.

Above: Cathbad the Druid and the Cauldron of
Blood, including the resin cast details in close up.

DETAILS
• Scale: 32mm
• Period: Fantasy
• Price: £14 to £26 per-set or £111.50 /$156 for the full
Cosmic Battle Bundle
• Material: Warlord Resin
• website: warlordgames.com
Above (left to right): Elfric Serpent-Eye and an El-Woman.

18
 RELEASE
RADAR
Dom Sore’s back with a smorgasbord of new
and upcoming hobby treats for your delectation.
TABLETOP READY TERRAIN We have reached the
Ponds are one of the terrain pieces that (unlike us heatwave-hit summer holidays in
Brits) don’t seem to get their wargaming day in the sun. I think various parts of the
that’s partly because a blob of inaccessible terrain is a bothersome world, which means
obstacle for gamers to
there are fewer new
manoeuvre troops around,
but also because making a releases as companies
good looking pond can be a and gamers jet off on
tricky hobby project. The their holidays. That’s
pond’s skinnier sister, River, made hunting out
tends to get the limelight
this month’s Release
with her wavy moves…
but it’s time for Ms Pond Radar items a little
to shine! Thanks to a new more difficult, but I’ve
release from Warbases hopefully found some
(warbases.co.uk), we can things that will take your
all plonk some fine ponds
fancy and cure any post-
down without the use of
complicated water effect holiday blues.
hobby materials.

They have taken their existing 3mm thick pond bases, which are just plain MDF, and printed realistic
looking watery designs on top. The printed set costs twice the price of the plain ones, but at just £10
for a sheet of five ponds, it isn’t going to break the bank! There are five to a sheet and three sheet
variants, which makes 15 different pond shapes in all; for £30, you could create a veritable carp fishery
to fight over. Pond sizes vary, with larger ones around 140mm in diameter and smaller ones about
70mm x 120mm. Now you just need to find some very small gnomes to place around them…

… or you could opt for buildings. You can’t have a village

pond without a village, after all, and the new range from
Wargamer’s Whims (wargamerswhims.mabisy.com)
provides more readily coloured creations. These 15mm
and 28mm scale buildings (along with one 6mm outlier)
are made of printed MDF so that you can assemble them
for the tabletop as soon as possible. There’s never been
a better time to be a time-sapped gamer! There are five
designs, ranging from small outbuildings to a larger
house, and all are a red brick effect with tiled roofs; I am
not quite sure what the buildings represent in terms of
location, but they are generic enough to be usable all over
the place (seen left).

Maybe you want to play at a smaller scale? Battlescale Wargame

Buildings (battlescale.com) have a small European ruin in 10mm
that’ll be just the thing to add a point of interest to the banks
of your pond. You’ll finally need to grab a paintbrush, though, as
this comes in unpainted resin. With a centre filled with rubble,
you won’t need to worry about detailing the exposed interior
of this town house, so it’ll be versatile for various eras. Maybe
I’m the only only one who obsesses over 1930s Central European
wallpaper tastes anyway!

20
RARE RATTLE CANS
Before you paint your new Battlescale Wargames
ruin, you’ll want to get some primer on it, and
the new spray paints from The Army Painter
(thearmypainter.com), due out late October, will

RELEASE
help you with that. Four new colours are being

RADAR
added to the range: Greedy Gold, Ash Grey, Oak
Brown, and the poetically named Brainmatter
Beige [joining classics such as Bilious Green in the
pantheon of putridly named paints - Ed]. In an
interesting/odd twist, there are three limited edition
colours on the way too: Hydra Turquoise, Pixie Pink,
and Deep Blue. I’m not sure it’s too useful to release
colours that could end up as the basis of your army
painting, only to snatch them away halfway through
a project because of limited availability… best buy
up a good supply if the tones appeal! These sprays
act as primer and basecoat, which will help you
get painted models onto the tabletop faster and
are made to match their counterparts in the brush
applied Warpaints range, making touching up and
colour matching simple.

VEHICLES AND CREW FOR WORLD WAR TWO

You just can’t get away from this hugely popular period… well, you
can’t if you read Release Radar because it’s one of my favourite
wargaming eras! Thankfully, there are some excellent releases on the
way, and as seems to be the trend these days, 3D printing is playing
a part in diversifying what’s available. Mardav Miniatures
(mdminis.co.uk) must have scanned the tea leaves and predicted Wi’s
theme this month because they’ve added to their range of 3D printed
figures with Western Desert British forces; these will be fantastic
fodder to face off against my Italian force in desert campaigns! A Above: SAS jeep.
Forward Observer Team, 8th Army and SAS/LRDG Infantry sections
(rifles or SMGs), 3" mortar, 25-pounder howitzer, A12 Matilda II, and
SAS jeep have all been added; but there are some updates to older
models too, with the LRDG gun truck, support truck, 17-pounder, and
Bofors 40mm AA getting new crews. The figures all come in 20mm or
28mm options thanks to the joy of digital scaling; and while you’re
perusing their site, don’t forget to have a browse of their Italian
models too.

Talking of crews, Trenchworx (trenchworx.com) have released

crew options for various armies and theatres: German Tank
Commanders, US Tank Commanders and crew, German Flak 43
and crew, US M18 Hellcat crew, US M8 Greyhound crew, German
Marder III crew, German Grille crew, and German Flak crew.
These are 3D prints too and come in 1/56 scale, so they’ll be
just right for Bolt Action. “But Dom, I don’t have a 3D printer!” I

Above: US Tank Commanders

and Crew.

Above: German Tank Commanders STL file (left) and 3D print (right).

21
 Above: US M18 Hellcat Crew. Above: German Marder
Above: German Flak 43 and Crew (STL file).
III Crew.

hear you cry. Fear not! These can be purchased ready-printed if you don’t have the machine to turn
the STL files (which are also available to purchase) into physical models yourself. Interestingly, the
price is the same for the digital or physical goods; the bonus of the digital file is that you can then
print enough crew to man a whole fleet of M8s for $10 and the cost of a little resin. There are some
nice details here, with the US M18 Hellcat and US Tank Commander sets having crew members in the
process of firing a Browning .50 cal; the gun is modelled as part of the figure. That should help protect
them from damage during gaming, and you could make them further damage resistant by fixing them
in place with rare earth magnets rather than permanently attaching.

No crew for the new offering from Mad Bob Miniatures

(madbobminiatures.co.uk), but the Saint Chamond 194mm
GPF and its (separately available) lead vehicle maintain Bob’s
reputation for producing the more esoteric side of World
War Two equipment. This mighty machine is essentially a
mobile naval gun, although mobile is a relative term! It didn’t
really do much in French hands, but the Germans took them
East and used them in Leningrad. The two vehicles can be
purchased in 28mm or 20mm scales, and the main weapon
vehicle can be built with stabilisers engaged or not.

MINI MINIATURES MISCELLANY

Lancashire Games (lancashiregames.com)

have a few packs of new Napoleonics in
10mm white metal: Polish Lancers Charging,
Polish Lancers Advancing, and Württemberg
Foot March Attack. A nice addition to their
expanding ranges, these will help add the
variety to your army that is often difficult to
achieve at smaller scales.
Above: Napoleonic Charging Polish Lancers.

Some of my favourite releases

right now are Iliada Games Studio’s
(iliadagamestudio.com) new 6mm
modern vehicles. Included in the MDF
range are some gloriously unglamorous
options: a caravan, a pickup, two types
of bus, a truck, a sports car, a large Above: car and caravan.
military style SUV, and two family cars. Below: Truck.
This Turkish company is producing
some excellent models lately, and these
vehicles will make excellent scenic
additions to any modern warfare table.
Above: Interstate bus
before and after assembly.

22
WIGLAF WARGAMING
Wiglaf! [Bless you! - Ed] No, that’s not a sneeze, it’s the new range of figures from Daniel Mersey (of
Lion Rampant fame), which is getting a second wave of releases (wiglafminiatures.wordpress.com).
The range takes in the British Dark Ages, and the new codes bring more Warlords to the 18mm mix
along with Vendel Culture Warriors. The Vendel Culture Warriors get armoured and unarmoured packs
of 12 figures, while the second Warlords & Followers pack has eight figures to represent Æthelbert of
Kent, Sexred of Essex, Edwin of Northumbria, Caedwalla of Wessex, and Oswald of Northumbria, along
with a Vendel standard bearer, hornblower, and a Roman Church monk.

WARLORDS VENDEL CULTURE WARRIORS

Above: Sexred of Essex (left)

and Caedwalla of Wessex (right).

Above: Armoured Vendel warriors.

Above: Roman Church monk (left), Edwin of Northumbria

(middle), and Oswald of Northumbria (right).

Above: Unarmoured Vendel warriors.

Above: Vendel standard bearer (left), Æthelbert
of Kent (middle), and hornblower (right).

If you are wondering about Vendels, then I’ve got
some insider info from the man himself; over to
Mr Mersey:
“I’m not aware of many other 15/18mm ranges
for the Vendel Culture (pre-Viking or Iron Age
Scandinavia). My Vendel warriors wear helmets
based on known examples and period artwork,
and I’ve interpreted the distinctive wrap-
around tunic shown in some period artwork
as a protective leather (or thick fabric) coat
worn as armour and as a cultural symbol of a
warrior. Mark Copplestonehas pointed out that
Procopius’s mention of the thick coats worn by
the Heruli as armour could be a reference to
this garment, noting that the wrapover style is
typical of steppe warriors (the Heruli lived both
in the Danube Basin and southern Scandinavia).
I believe that skirmishers would not wear such a
coat, but Scandinavian-influenced Anglo-Saxon
warriors (such as the East Anglians) could do so.
Their shields are slightly larger than those of my
Anglo-Saxons (scaled to around 100cm), which is
supported by cemetery evidence.”
I am very excited to see what comes next from
Wiglaf Miniatures, especially if there are more
Northumbrians, and the figures are worth a look
if only to take in the painting skill of Steve Dean!
Until next time, fare thee well, and happy gaming!

23
 FULL PAPER JACKET
New Books for the Discerning Wargamer
By Neil smith
A couple of books this month had me pondering the value of reading memoirs as a
wargamer. For historians, they are often the most unreliable primary sources; but for us,
I think they provide useful insights into the messy realities of combat. That makes them
great for generating scenarios, especially for skirmish games and campaigns. If you’re
pondering a new project, put memoirs on your reading list.
ANCIENT
“I must get a Roman army.” Stop me if you’ve
heard that before, or a hundred times. Most
wargamers who develop
an interest in ancient
warfare turn to the Romans
eventually. The problem is,
which one across the 800
years of Rome suits you
best? You could rummage
around the internet, or you
could have a look at Graham
Sumner’s Roman Warriors:
The Paintings of Graham
Sumner (Greenhill). As
the title suggests, here is a
pictorial review of Roman
soldiers, their dress, and equipment. And
Sumner is ably assisted by the seemingly
ubiquitous Simon Elliott who adds the
text to provide context for the artwork. So,
that’s an art book that informs and inspires
potential Roman wargamers. Doesn’t that
sound like a rewarding way to get into the
Roman army?
Now you have your Romans, you need an
enemy or two to fight. One of my biggest
wargaming regrets was selling my 15mm
Hannibalic Carthaginian Army. That was
an army of many contingents, each of which
could form the base of another Ancient
army: Numidian, Iberian, Celts, etc. My
twitch to build another Carthaginian
Army comes from Joshua Hall’s Carthage
at War: Punic Armies c. 814-146 BC (Pen
& Sword). Hall covers
everything you need to
know for the Carthaginian
military from inception to
its eventual demise at the
hands of the Romans. And
the more astute observer
will notice that this isn’t
all Hannibal, rather there
are many enemies to
fight across that period as
Carthage developed its own
empire. Hall also covers
naval warfare, which only
adds to the possibilities. And, as a wee
bonus, check out Gioal Canestrelli’s Celtic
Warfare: From the Fifth Century BC to the
First Century AD (Pen & Sword), adding
a potential enemy for the Carthaginians
and Romans. Get all three Ancient books
26
this month, and you’re set for some major
wargaming action.
Early Modern
We leap across the centuries
to a very different era of
warfare and theatre of
conflict. Michael Fredholm
Von Essen’s Charles X’s
Wars: Volume 3 - The
Danish Wars, 1657-1660
(Helion) takes us into a
war that has received scant
wargaming attention but
is worth a closer look for
those into early modern
warfare. One main reason
why wars in Eastern Europe and around
the Baltic are not often wargamed is that
they are a bit too ‘foreign’ for a primarily
Anglocentric hobby. But,
mostly thanks to Helion
and books such as this, they
have become accessible.
Across three volumes,
Von Essen describes a
fascinating series of wars
between major European
players that often fought
in different styles, with
big, colourful armies,
and some unique units.
Perhaps perversely, this
third volume might act as a
useful gateway book into this period. I’m
assured by those who play this theatre that
you never look back.
Napoleonic
The first of this month’s
memoirs might justly be
called ‘reactions’ because
they were written so soon
after the combats they
relay. That is a good thing.
Gareth Glover and Robert
Burnham have been
digging through archives
and collections to produce
The Men of Wellingtons
Light Division: Unpublished Memoirs from
the 43rd Light Infantry in the Peninsular
War (Frontline). These aren’t taken from
the many previously published memoirs
of that conflict, and most weren’t intended
for publication; although the publisher’s
BOR
WAR TO
GAM
N
E
claim that these are free of hindsight is, by
definition, wishful thinking. Nevertheless,
these accounts get us closer to the action,
which is great for skirmish games in
particular. Personalizing our soldiers adds
to the gaming experience, and if we can use
historical characters, so much the better.
American Civil War
Do we need another book on Gettysburg?
It was arguably the decisive battle of the
American Civil War and certainly its most
iconic, and when the book is written by a
Gettysburg Ranger and historian, then the
answer is a resounding ‘yes’. But this isn’t
the well-worn story we’re accustomed to;
rather, Troy Harman in All Roads Led to
Gettysburg: A New Look at the Civil War’s
Pivotal Battle (Stackpole) argues for a new
interpretation. This wasn’t an accidental,
headlong encounter
stumbled into by both
sides, argues Harman, but
almost an inevitability
created by the terrain and
the demands of the armies.
I’m not sure that’s such
a radical departure from
the traditional narrative,
but Harman takes the
focus off the high ground,
which is interesting. For
wargamers, that sharpens
our focus on the effects of
terrain and how to use it. We might need
to revisit Gettysburg on the table, and
perhaps some other battles too with this
interpretation in mind.
The Great War
Sue Boase’s Sniper on the Ypres Salient:
An Infantryman’s War In The Royal Welsh
Fusiliers (Pen & Sword) is a memoir of
sorts. This is the account of one man’s war
between December 1915 and December
1916. The sniper was William McCrae,
who began his war as a basic infantryman,
but emerged as an accomplished sniper
and an officer. It’s unclear what aspects
of McCrae’s career are captured in this
narrative, but that doesn’t matter so much
for wargamers pondering the Western
Front. Focusing on a sniper’s actions
might be an interesting angle for skirmish
gaming, with RPG potential because
it wasn’t all about shooting the soldier
opposite but gathering intelligence too.
That kicks up a bunch of missions we can
send our sniper on across no-man’s-land.
World War two
Robert Kershaw is one of
the better current military
historians. That is reason
enough to buy Dünkirchen
1940: The German View
of Dunkirk (Osprey). For
wargamers, though, this
book offers a new take on
a very familiar subject.
We all know roughly what
happened at Dunkirk; the
Allies managed to evacuate
thousands of soldiers from
the beaches under constant enemy fire and
imminent destruction, or so the legend
goes. The Germans were faceless in that
narrative, over the horizon, active but not
actors. Yet, they were only 7km away from
a stunning victory when they were ordered
to stop their advance. What happened?
Kershaw has the answer. The knowledge
he adds could literally be a gamechanger
for us because we can now switch sides
and play out some German ‘what ifs?’ with
a little more authority. Kershaw’s analysis
certainly has me contemplating an early
war project in 6mm.
We switch to the Eastern Front with a
biography of an accomplished soldier
in Roland Kaltenegger’s Eastern Front
Sniper: The Life of Matthus Hetzenauer
(Greenhill). Drafted into the German
army in 1943, he began his soldiering
in the Seetal Alps where he learned to
be a sniper. He then served in Romania,
Hungary, and Slovakia, racking up over
300 kills. He survived the war and a Soviet
prison camp. That sounds like a story
worth reading. Similar
to William McRae on the
Somme, Hetzenauer is
someone we can follow
around our tabletops
but with more variety in
combat environments. In
April 1945, Hetzenauer
was awarded the Knight’s
Cross of the Iron Cross,
which might be an option
for a sniper campaign
victory. The other bonus
of playing a sniper-based
game is that you only need
to paint one figure!
For me, wargames and reading have
a symbiotic relationship. I can’t read
without wondering about the wargaming
possibilities, and if new figures or rules
come out, then I want to know the history
behind them. Our next book reminded me
of that because my first board wargame
was SPI’s Arnhem, and I’ve had a thing
about the battle ever since. Add that to
my interest in memoirs and other primary
sources, and you can see why I am excited did it become another conspiracy theory?
about Grant Newell’s Airborne to Arnhem: Read on and find out. As for wargaming
Volume 1 - Personal Reminiscences of with a Nazi UFO, there are post-WWII sci-
the Battle of Arnhem, fi rules out there that I am sure will make
Operation Market, 17-26 sense to some of you, and there is a wee
September 1944 (Helion). part of me that would like to give it a go.
There are 150 recollections
Modern
across the three volumes of
this series from all aspects It can hardly have escaped the notice of UK
of this battle. That prompts readers that 2022 is the 40th anniversary
all sorts of wargaming of the Falklands War, and there are a lot
possibilities, including in of us who know someone who fought.
some areas away from the Anniversaries foster wargames projects
main action – there is a like nothing else outside of blockbuster
good logistics game in here Hollywood movies. It is likely then,
somewhere. Newell’s book that many readers will want to attempt
has all the background a Falklands project. For some of us, the
information you need to contemplation is the best bit because,
get started along with lots of photographs sooner or later, the paintbrushes will
for inspiration. have to come out and the work begin.
For the Falklands War, that part has just
The World War Two theatre I most enjoy
become less daunting
reading about is the Far
with the publication of
East and Pacific. I find
British Land Forces in the
it almost unfathomable
Falklands War: Uniforms
that men could fight in
and Equipment (Frontline)
those conditions. I also
by Mark Magreehan. He is
like wargaming skirmish
a historian and collector
actions with set objectives;
of military equipment
games involving the French
with quite the stash
Resistance are always fun
for the Falklands War;
for that reason. With our
uniforms and equipment
next book, I can combine
from the Commandos,
the two pleasures. James
Paras, and Scots Guards,
Villanueva takes a deep
including smocks, helmets,
dive into a unique conflict
boots, rucksacks etc. He
in Awaiting MacArthur’s
accompanies photographs
Return: World War II Guerrilla Resistance
of those with more of the soldiers, some
Against the Japanese in the Philippines
taken by other soldiers, to produce an
(University Press of Kansas). What we
arguably unique archive that will prove
have here is an analysis of the disparate
more than worthwhile for that Falklands
guerrilla groups across those islands.
War project.
They did everything you might expect
by gathering intelligence and disrupting Miscellaneous
operations, tying down
My fellow Wi columnist Dom Sore has a
manpower, and keeping
bugbear about the lack of maps in military
the Japanese off-balance.
history books. So, my final book this
Villanueva examines their
month should make him happy. Philip
organisation, logistics, and
Parker’s History of War in Maps (Collins)
effectiveness, and how the
should hit the spot for all of us who like
Allies worked with them
to pour over maps as we follow events and
from a distance. In short,
plot our games.
this feels like a blueprint
for wargaming a skirmish
campaign on a small island
in the Far East, which has
to be my top contender for
2023 wargaming projects -
too early?
A few years ago, there was quite the
kerfuffle over a 1/72 model of a Nazi Flying
Saucer that the manufacturer marketed as
if it was real (how they achieved the scale, I
don’t know). I’d pass this off as ridiculous,
but I’ve seen games played with them, rules
and everything, and now we have a book And that’s all for this month but check out
by S.D. Tucker, Nazi UFOs: The Legends my reviews of new military history books on
and Myths of Hitler’s Flying Saucers in Facebook at Full Paper Jacket or my website
WW2 (Frontline). Tucker is quick to point hamsterwrangler.com/beating-tsundoku/.
out the whole thing is a myth, but how Happy reading (and gaming)!
27
 www.hindsfiguresltd.com
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 NORTH AFRICA
PAINTING
PART ONE:
TABLETOP READY

Callum grabs this issue’s four free Warlord Games frames and shows us how he achieved great results in no time at all on
these varied desert combatants.

This issue’s Warlord Games freebie is a

BUILDING YOUR FIGURES
lucky dip from four North Africa themed
frames. I couldn’t exactly do an in-depth BRITISH 8th ARMY
hobby guide for every possibility on
these frames as it would have filled up the I built two different 8th Army options so that I could show quick methods for different
whole issue, so I decided to paint a bit of skin tones; I’d paint a paler, ruddy Caucasian skinned Scottish Highlander (left) and sun-
everything and get my figures completed weathered, darker skinned Sikh (right). Both figures were equipped with backpacks and a
at a fast pace. Excluding the time to shovel so that they could dig in and take some refuge from the blazing hot days and cold
research, build, and zenithal prime my nights in the desert.
infantry options, I took just 30 minutes to
get each figure painted and ready to take
part in our North African Campaign. I
hope the advice here will help you to get
paint on your figures and stop you adding
more grey plastic to your untouched pile
of shame (we all have it!).
Want to take things further? I’ll be
back with part two next month; I’ll
demonstrate how another 30 minutes of
painting on your already tabletop ready
figures will elevate your army and make
it look even better!
Hop in your Chevy, buckle up, and get
those dust goggles on because we’re
gettin’ speedy!

30
COMMONWEALTH INFANTRY
I settled on an Australian ‘Digger’ (left) and a
South African (right) here; these forces began
the North African conflict with their own gear,
but with supply lines limited, they began to
supplement kit with more readily available British

WARFARE
options. I wanted to reflect this in their equipment;

DESERT
they look quite like the 8th Army but with some
recognisable differences in elements such as the
traditional digger hat and South African Pith
helmet. It’s worth noting that this set can be easily
mixed with the 8th Army frame to create more
variety in your army options.
AFRIKA KORPS
I studied texts, photos, and illustrations of the
Afrika Korps before settling on a kitted-out build
for my German Grenadiers. Osprey’s Afrikakorps
1941-43 shows men laden with gear, ready
for excursions in the desert, and the Warlord
frame has some beautifully sculpted extras: an
assortment of pickaxes, bedrolls, canteens, and
more.
The Afrika Korps were originally deployed with
tropical helmets; while these offered protection
from the elements, they did little to help in
combat. I wanted all my figures to be mid-war and
deep into the North African conflict, so I equipped
one with a steel helmet instead as these were
eventually shipped over to the Axis forces then
repainted to blend into the desert.
ITALIAN ARMY AND BLACKSHIRTS
The Italian army didn’t use anti-tank weapons in
the same manner as other forces; they relied on
surprise ambushes, closing the gap then hurling
grenades to disable the mechanical behemoths that
churned up the sand of North Africa’s deserts. I
found this interesting, so I built a Lieutenant lying
in wait, grenade at the ready. The pose is based on
an illustration found in Osprey’s Italian soldier
in North Africa 1941-43 (see below). The other
model is based on an illustration from the same
book, showing an Italian attack on the Gazala
Line. I tried to depict the speed of the pose and
match the equipment positions where possible.

FINAL PREP
I added sand and small rocks to the bases with PVA
glue, creating small rows of raised PVA to give the
impression of sand waves. The effect was subtle, but
I think it added another dimension to the finished
base. I then primed and zenithal highlighted each
model with my airbrush to start the process of adding
highlights
before I’d even
applied a paint
brush to the
figure. With
this done it was
painting time!

Above: From WAR169 Italian Soldier in North Africa 1941-43. Illustration

by Steve Noon. © Copyright Osprey Publishing www.ospreypublishing.com Above: South African with the zenithal highlight applied.

31
 DON’T LOSE YOUR HEAD
I used plastic glue to stick the figures
together until I got to the heads, which I
gently attached with a small dot of sticky
tack. This allowed me to prime and zenithal
highlight the models, then remove the
heads and superglue them to cocktail sticks
so that I could more easily access the
details when painting.

PAINTING APPROACH
Batch painting is the key to getting quality results in only 30
minutes; if I had painted more figures at once (a whole platoon, for
example), then the time taken per-infantryman would have gone
lower than shown here; drying time would no longer be a factor,
and speed would have increased as I got used to the areas I was
painting on each figure.
Using an airbrush to lay down basecoats is highly recommended
but not essential. A thin glaze of paint applied with a brush will
go on quickly and dry in no time at all too, so don’t think fancy
kit is required to get these results. Until recently, all my painting
was done with a basic bristle brush; the same approaches work
whatever equipment you use, and a zenithal start can be achieved
with spray from rattlecans or a drybrush of white over black.

BRITISH 8th ARMY AND COMMONWEALTH INFANTRY

I started with the British troops, batching the 8th Army and the 2) I mixed equal parts Vallejo German Camo Beige (the irony
Commonwealth Infantry together as they both shared the same was not lost on me) and Vallejo Buff, thinned it, and applied it
uniform colours with just minor differences in headgear. through the airbrush. As before, I tried to reach full opacity on the
brightest points, blending down to almost complete translucency
1) I needed to paint the skin first, the most ‘recessed’ part of
in the darkest recesses. Save time here by spraying everything,
the figures. For the Scottish Highlander, I mixed Army Painter
including areas that will eventually be green, such as the backpack
Amber Skin and Ruby Skin in a 2:1 ratio to make a pale/pink
and socks.
flesh tone; for the Digger and South African models, I used pure
Dorado Skin; and for the Sikh soldier, I used a mixture of Army
Painter Dorado Skin, Onyx Skin, and Mocca Skin.
I thinned these mixtures with a drop of airbrush flow improver and
some water before applying them in several thin and controlled
8 min
layers through my airbrush, focusing the spray on the top areas of each
the skin and leaving the grey/black in the deepest recesses.
Once I had these colours applied and dry, I masked the sections
off with sticky tack. Don’t worry if your spray goes a little over
the edges, you’ll quickly clean up that overspray in the next step.

5 min 3) Once dry, I carefully removed

each the sticky tack using a larger chunk,
pressing and pulling in a gentle
jabbing motion. In just ten minutes,
most of the figure is not only painted
but also highlighted and shaded to a
pleasing degree.

10 min
each

32
4) I blocked in the webbing, socks, and
packs with a mix of Vallejo German Camo
Beige and Vallejo Uniform Green in a 2:1
ratio, with a dot of dark brown added to
the mix to finish. I thinned this mix so it
would flow over the areas and show some 15 min
of the beige uniform colour through it as each
‘highlights’.
This is a quick way to add more interest
to the model with no extra effort; on
the socks, I ran a thin layer to sit in the
recesses and just a tint of it to the topmost
points, creating a highlight through the
tonal difference between the green and
the uniform colour but with no extra
brushwork required.

5) 15 minutes in and it’s on to detailing.

I used Citadel Rhinox Hide (any dark
brown will do) and painted the rifles,
canteens, bayonet sheaths, and boots. 20 min
This mix was thinned, but I applied it each
with more opacity than previous stages so
that the elements popped and ‘framed’ the
other areas I’d painted more subtly.

6) Adding definition and separation is

important to give your painting impact. 21 min
each
I mixed equal parts Citadel Agrax
Earthshade and Seraphim Sepia, then I
diluted that mix down in a 1:2 ratio with
Citadel Contrast Medium and tinted the
uniforms with it. This mix pooled in the
recesses and added shading and lining.

7) The skin got similar treatment: Citadel

Reikland Fleshade and Citadel Contrast
Medium in a 1:2 ratio was applied to the 22 min
Scottish Highlander; the Australian and each
South African skin was Citadel Seraphim
Sepia, and the Sikh skin had the previous
step’s uniform wash applied.

33
 8) Highlights came next and by focusing on
key areas of the uniform, webbing, and faces it
is easy to achieve effective results in minutes
thanks to the early zenithal guidance. Use
thin paint and the side of your brush to catch
26 min
edges quickly. Only paint with the brush tip to each
accentuate lines that can’t be easily hit with a
brush edge. Less is more here; pick key areas
that would catch the light rather than trying to
edge highlight every part of your figure!
For the uniform highlights, I mixed Vallejo
German Camo Beige and Buff in a 1:2 ratio and
added a small amount of Vallejo Ivory. For the
webbing, I mixed Vallejo German Camo Beige
with Vallejo Uniform in a 1:2 ratio, adding a
little Vallejo Buff into the mix.

9) Almost done, and it’s time to highlight the

skin. For the Scottish Highlander’s face (left)
and fingers, I mixed Army Painter Amber Skin
with off-white. For the Australian (right), I 28 min
each
highlighted with just Army Painter Amber Skin.

10) To use up my final two minutes, I mixed equal parts Scale75 Thrash Metal and Black to give a metallic shine to the
weapons and belt buckles on the front of the model. The final touch was a quick wash over those areas using Citadel Nuln
Oil mixed with Citadel Contrast Medium, and voila, our basic models are done.

30 min
each

Above: The heads for some figures aren’t glued

on yet as I’ll add more detail in a second article.

AFRIKA KORPS

1) The steps for the Germans are very similar, so this guide focuses
more on the particular paints needed. I started the airbrushing
with Army Painter Dorado Skin for, unsurprisingly, their skin. As
with the British models, layers should be thin to capitalise on our
zenithal start.

2) With that done, sticky tack those sections and apply a 2:1 mix
of Vallejo Khaki and Vallejo Uniform Green. I used my airbrush
again, but you could apply it by brush; ensure that the consistency is
thinner than a traditional layer and is focused on the raised surfaces
as before, allowing our pre-shading to show through.

Right: German Afrika Korps soldiers. Artwork by Stephen

Andrew from MAA 316 The German Army 1939 - 45 (2)
© Osprey Publishing www.ospreypublishing.com

34
 3) With these steps done, remove the sticky tack as
it’s time to tackle all the ‘clobber’ on these models.
I started with Citadel Rhinox Hide and blocked in
all the straps, canteens, bayonet holsters, and boots,
then Vallejo Khaki on the pack and other details. An
20 min
equal mix of Vallejo Khaki and Vallejo Dark Yellow each
coloured the helmet and canister. The final colours
were an equal mix of Scale75 Thrash Metal and
black, covering the weapon, ammo, and grenade.

4) I washed the models with an equal mix of Citadel Agrax Earthshade and Citadel Seraphim Sepia, which was then thinned with
Citadel Contrast Medium. This wash is slightly darker than on the British models as I wanted to tint all the green, not just the
recesses. After application, the uniform starts to look much closer to reality.

5) For the skin, I went back to Citadel Seraphim Sepia

thinned with Contrast Medium and applied it to add depth.
The metallics were covered with Citadel Nuln Oil instead. 24 min
each

6) Once this was dry, I spent the last of my

time painting in highlights: for the uniform,
I mixed Vallejo Khaki and Vallejo Uniform
Green in a 2:1 ratio before adding small 30 min
amounts of Vallejo Buff; for the brown each
straps, I used Citadel Skrag Brown, and I
applied a few spot highlights to the face
with Army Painter Amber Skin. With that,
my time was up!

ITALIAN ARMY AND BLACKSHIRTS

The Italian uniform is darker, with more mustard trousers and helmets, a beige top, and grey details. This instantly made them
more difficult to paint, I had to use sticky tack twice instead of once, which meant sacrificing some later details to achieve the
30-minute goal.
1) Faces got a spray of Army Painter Dorado Skin, then I masked them with sticky tack. I ignored the hands on the model; they
are small enough to paint in later in less time than it would take to carefully mask around the weapons.

2) Equal parts Vallejo English Uniform and Vallejo Khaki got 3) I masked over the previously painted areas with more
focused on the trousers, helmet, and fez cap. sticky tack and painted the rest of the uniform with Vallejo
German Camo Beige then carefully removed the tack.

5 min 12 min
each each

35
 4) It was time to begin the brushwork with Vallejo Dark Grey used
on the socks, belts, pouches, and canteen. The boots were painted
with Citadel Rhinox Hide, and while it was on my palette, I mixed
that brown in with an equal amount of Citadel Mournfang Brown
to paint straps. I touched up the unpainted hands with my skin mix
23 min
here too. The final step for this stage was to paint metallics with the each
previous equal parts metallic mix of Scale 75 Thrash Metal
and black.

5) I diluted Citadel Agrax Earthshade with Contrast Medium and applied it everywhere except the face but including the
hands. I still used my Seraphim Sepia mix from the other figures for the face to get the definition I desired on this important
part of the model.

6) Highlights were rushed on to finish.

Having done the other nations previously,
I already had a good idea of the areas
to focus these on and transferred that
knowledge to the Italians for more speed.
30 min
On the yellower areas, I mixed Vallejo each
English Uniform and Vallejo Khaki,
adding Vallejo Buff until I was happy
with the colour. For the beige, I mixed
Vallejo German Camo Beige with a small
amount of Vallejo Ivory. I only had time to
highlight these two areas due to the more
difficult scheme but still ended up with a
good-looking tabletop ready figure!

TABLETOP READY

That’s eight figures done (but for their basing) in four hours, or 30 minutes per-figure. I could stop at this point and be happy with
how they looked in battle. If I’d been batch painting and working on more figures at each stage, I’d have a load of great infantry
ready to deploy.

IN PART TWO
I’m not stopping here
though; I’ll be back in part
two and spend another
half-an-hour on four of
these 30-minute figures to
take them to the next level
of finish. An army is, after
all, never quite finished!
I’ll also show off some
simple basing approaches
you can apply to situate
your men in different
parts of the conflict in
North Africa.

Right: Top row - the four

finished 30-minute minis.
Bottom row - figures
with another 30-minutes
spent on them; these are
described in part two
next month.

36
 HORSES (AND RIDERS)
FOR COURSES

A BIG MEN ON BIG HORSES COMPARISON

Napoleonic gamer Jack Travis pits
Victrix’s new Heavy Dragoons against
against Warlord’s existing ones in a
plastic frame equivalent of the Pepsi
Challenge.
On hearing a friend comment “this new
set from Victrix makes me want to throw
away my painted Scots Greys brigade and
start all over again!”, I decided he wanted
to see what all the fuss was about, and
if these new British heavy cavalry really
were (as one of the reviews on the Victrix
website hailed): “The best detailed and
wonderfully crafted 28mm figures… ever
seen”. Specifically I wanted to see, how
they measured up against the other Heavy
Dragoon plastics on the market. Seconds
out, round one…
In the blue corner, weighing in at £30
($36.50) for 12 figures (including officer,
musician, and sapper), we have the
Victrix British Napoleonic Dragoons.
In the red corner, weighing in at £26
($31.60) for 14 figures (including a
metal officer and musician), we have the
Warlord Games British Union Brigade
Cavalry. Sprues on the table, snippers in
hand - let’s get ready to rumble!
38
There are several different reasons for INSTRUCTIONS
choosing to buy one new set of plastic
Both sets get a ‘could do better’ on the
toy soldiers over another. In this article,
scorecard when it comes to construction
I want to focus on the two things I
instructions. Warlord don’t bother with
consider the most important: 1) How
easily the parts fit together 2) How ‘good’
anything at all, whilst Victrix stick to
the finished models look. Both points
their trademark unfriendly collection
of numbers and letters at the top of the
are pretty broad, and the latter is highly
subjective; but what I’m going to do here
packaging header card. These codes
correspond to those on the sprue, if you
is provide you with the evidence to make
can find them (or if they are there at all -
up your own mind, rather than prescribe
come in A1 where are you?), so slightly
my own. I am going to make that task as
better than nothing at all. But let’s not
easy as possible for you by constructing
linger on the instructions because the
two models (from the range of those
only way is up from here!
available in both sets) that are as similar
as possible - Scots Greys in bearskins.
TROOPER BODY PARTS
Snipping from the frame is as easy as pie for both sets of figures, and having negotiated the mystery of the missing part (actually
present but not numbered on the frame), what we have are the six pieces that make up a Victrix trooper (a), and the four pieces that
form the Warlord equivalent (b). Warlord chose to mould the left arm/hand and carbine on the body, whilst the scabbard, canteen, and
cartridge box fit quite ingeniously via a slot on the back of the body (c). The same pieces on the Victrix model come as separate parts;

napoleonic
or in the case of saddle bag and canteen, they are moulded on the body.
Victrix have the upper hand on variety, with three standard trooper bodies to choose from as opposed to Warlord’s two.
Here’s a detailed look at the two bodies (d) and the sword arms (e) - the cord hanging from the Victrix sabre is a nice touch. The Victrix
sword in general has a more refined and realistic look.

a Victrix Trooper b Warlord Trooper Fitting the Warlord accessories

c

Warlord body Victrix body (left) Victrix sword

d e (right) Warlord sword

TROOPER BODIES FITTED Victrix

f saddlebag
The Warlord body goes together easier and without expending
much brain power, the compromise being that the parts look a
little less dynamic, e.g. the left hand pressed to the chest and
the carbine fixed in a slightly unnatural position.
It’s worth pointing out that the Victrix scabbard and cartridge
box part is a really thorny piece to fit; I struggled to make it Both pictures at the
sit comfortably and firmly anywhere (f). bottom: (left) Warlord,
(right) Victrix.

39
 HORSE BODY PARTS
Both sets form a horse from two specific body sections. “TOO BIG. NO TOO SMALL!”
Again the Victrix set has the advantage of having more During the course of writing this article, I spoke to several
variety - three different horses on a sprue compared with figure collectors and a couple of figure designers, and it
Warlord’s two. seems the jury is well and truly ‘out’ on what size a horse
is. Several lambasted the Victrix horse as being too small
Both sets use similar fitting ‘plugs’ and crucially allow plenty and “crammed”, whilst an equal number said the Warlord
of surface area on which to apply the glue - the horses from horses in this set were too big. What I’ve noticed about all
both sets fit together very neatly. wargamers is that they then go on to agree that actually
horses come in all shapes and sizes… before criticising the
The horse furniture on the contrasting models is quite next set of horses they see as being too big or too small!
different, with the Warlord models looking a little sharper,
but the Warlord horses are cursed with a rather ugly bridle,
which on the Victrix models is nice and crisp.
The two manufacturers take a very different view on basing,
with Victrix going for the classic large oval, whilst Warlord
go for a subtle couple of discs on two of the hooves. Whilst
the larger base gives more stability, I find the discs allow for
very easy access for terrain basing between the legs.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the mane on the
Warlord horses - it seems to have gone AWOL on the left
hand side of the models! Let’s be kind and say the wind has
swept all the hair to one side.

Warlord Horse Victrix Horse Windswept Warlord mane

MOUNT UP
And here you have the finished
models (minus several hours of
brushwork!) And as I stated at the
beginning of the article, it’s up to
you to decide which you prefer. The
plaudits piled on the Victrix models
are well deserved, but re-visiting the
Warlord models, I was impressed with
how well they have stood the test of
time, being unsurpassed in several
aspects. I’ll close by reminding
everyone that we are blessed to live
in a golden age of plastic figure
manufacturing, and I thank both
companies for putting their efforts
(and investment) into producing two
great sets of miniatures.

The finished models: Victrix on

the left, Warlord on the right.

40
 THE DESERT WAR
IN MINIATURE

Dr David B James has been working on his 10mm/12mm WWII desert warfare figures for over a decade.
Wi recently visited The Worcester Wargames Club, where David is a member, and we snapped some photos
of this inspiring collection. David tells us all about them.
I was always interested in the Western Desert campaign as it’s where the allies fought the Germans toe-to-toe, so to speak
(though more often armoured bumper to armoured bumper), for the longest time, from 1941 to 1943. This, coupled with
inspiring stories from my Uncle Alf about the battles, fuelled my interest.

THE START OF MY ADVENTURES

IN THE LIBYAN DESERT
My collection started back when I was
18 years old, but it was in 6mm scale. As
I’ve aged, my eyesight has gotten worse
and the size of figures I’m comfortable
working on has increased. I now prefer
the 10mm/12mm scale, so about ten
years ago, I sold all my 6mm scale stuff
and began the process of replacing it
with the larger models. Why not go
bigger and up the scale to 15mm or
28mm, I hear you ask? Well, it’s simple,
I still wanted my games to represent
the vast open spaces of the Libyan
Desert, which meant that 10mm/12mm
(or 1/144) offered the perfect balance
between those broad expanses and ease
on my eyes!

42
 GAME OF THE DAY - THE BATTLE OF GAZALA

David set up a Battle of Gazala game for

Wargames Illustrated’s visit. The British
armoured Brigade are on the advance in
this shot of the table, with the Queen’s

WARFARE
DESERT
Bays (blue pennants) moving up and
the 9th Lancers (red pennants) chugging
along in the background. Behind them,
their Motor battalion (1st Rifle Brigade)
readies itself to consolidate any ground
taken. In the far distance, a squadron
of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment in
their Matildas starts to carefully cross a
minefield. The images throughout this
article show more of the game’s progress.

My collection now comprises 15th Panzer

Division (plus hangers-on) as well as
options to do 21st Panzer should I want to.
For the British, there are currently three tank
regiments - two Cruiser and one Matilda
- and the armies were originally brought
together to take part in the Battle of Gazala,
May 1942.
In addition, there are regiments and
squadrons to game earlier actions going all
the way back to the first pushes made by
Germans in March 1941. Various Cruisers
(A9, A10, and A13) come into play, as do
Vickers light tanks, Honeys, and Valentines.
MIXING THE MANUFACTURERS
Above: 25-pounders and 5.5" Howitzers stand ready to break up any
My collection represents the best from German counterattacks.
many companies making armour at 1/144
scale. The bulk of the German force is
Panzers from both Arrowhead Miniatures
and Dragon Models Ltd who make plastic
CAN.DO kits. The German command
are from Miniature Figurines (Minifigs),
Pithead Miniatures, Arrowhead Miniatures,
and Pendraken Miniatures. The British
armour is more from Arrowhead - their
detailed Matildas and Grants - and Pithead
Crusaders. Most of the other British tanks
are 3D prints from Butlers’ Printed Models.
Quite the eclectic mix, yet it all comes
together nicely.
The British infantry are Minifigs because
they are the only manufacturer I found who
make them with their bayonets fixed, and
the Germans are from Minifigs along with Above: The 9th Lancers press on towards the German front line.
others from Pendraken.

Left: The venerable

Matildas come under
inaccurate German
artillery fire at the edge of
the minefield.

43
 THE GERMANS

Right: One of my
German command
bases. The vehicles are
Minifigs and Pithead
with added antennae
and stowage. The foot
figures are all Minifigs.
The keen eyed viewer
may be able to spot that
the German officer is
explaining how they
did so well at Gazala
in ’42; on the table is
their copy of the Osprey
campaign book!

Left: ‘88’ is the dread of any Allied tank crew. This Arrowhead
model is partially set up for firing from the carriage.
Below: An Arrowhead Miniatures Pzkfw IV Ausf F2, or simply
a Mark IV ‘Special’ with the long 75mm. These were few and
far between compared to the F1 at Gazala, but by Alamein,
they were a relatively common sight.

Below: The Panzer Division HQ on the

move. All models are Minifigs except for the
general standing in the rear of the Horch,
who is from Pendraken Miniatures.

Right: Artillery: a
150mm on the left and
105mm on the right.
The 105mm was a
superior gun to the
25-pounder (seen on
the next page), firing
a larger round, but it
weighed twice as much,
making the 25-pounder
a better piece overall.

44
THE BRITISH

Above (left to right): A9, A10, and A13 from the 2nd RTR; all
minis by Pendraken. These Cruisers are ready to face Rommel’s
first push in March 1941, and while they are lovely models,
they needed some work to ‘desertise’ them, most notably with
modifications to the side skirts on the models. Photos of A9 and
A10 in Libya show that the skirt was only on the left-hand side to
cover the air intake. A13s had left and right side skirts.
Left: With Minifigs Dingoes parked up and the kettle on in the
Pendraken Dorchester, it’s time for a brew!

Right: The 25-pounder, limber, and tractor are all by Minifigs, and
I’ve done some conversion work here. The limber comes as a plain
model with its doors closed, but I wanted to make it look ‘busy’ so
added open doors and printed an interior view of the limber and
fixed it in place. There are seven crew figures added, serving each
gun, including one at the limber fetching ammo.

Below: The men of the 1st Army

Tank Brigade HQ (yes, with
Crusader MkII) and Dorchester
are all by Minifigs. The map
board is scratch built with wire
and plasticard. The map is a
reduced print of the Gazala area.

45
 Left: The 7th RTR commander; Matilda and Tilly by Arrowhead.
Below: The command base for the 2nd RTR (by Pendraken) takes
some time out.

DESERT WARFARE IN MINIATURE -

RULES APLENTY
We’ve tried out a few different rulesets as the collection has
grown, and the first we played at the club, in the ‘way back when’, was Firefly. These 6mm rules have the subtitle ‘A challenging
game of WWII’, and I should have taken this as a warning; they were far too complex! We’ve since settled on Blitzkrieg
Commander II, but we have added tweaks to further simplify play. Each model or base represents a troop or platoon, and you’re
typically the brigade commander with a few battalions worth of troops, so that’s about 60 models.
We’ve also played using Sam Mustafa’s Rommel, but it felt too much like a boardgame at times despite being fast and simple. At
the other end of the complexity scale, we have even played Two Fat Lardies’ What a Tanker! with the models; this is a fun system
that gave good results.

MORE FROM WORCESTER

The Worcester Wargames

Club, aka The Friends
of General Haig, were
the charming hosts for
this article’s photo shoot.
While we took these
pictures, other games were
being played and shown
off; in a future issue of
Wargames Illustrated,
we’ll bring you pictures
of the other games we saw
on the day.

46
WHERE TO NEXT? Above: The Matildas are through and onto the Germans.
Supported by RHA 6-pounder Portees.
I’m not ready to leave the desert just
Below: Transport of Shutzen Regt 104 roll in.
yet, and I am pondering Operation
Supercharge as the project’s next stage.
After playing such fun games with A10s,
it seems like it would be cheating to
have Shermans though!
I have purchased two Italian regiments,
and I’m getting these ready to join the
Axis forces. Their lovely M11/39s and
M13/40s will get a lick of paint, and
then they will be game ready to support
or lead the Axis attacks.

The rifle brigade press on as the Bays make good use of their new
Grants. The hurricanes swoop in on a second pass and without
heavy AT support the German force begins to crumble.

47
 THE BATTLE
OF TRAUTENAU
Inspired by our June 2022 magazine theme, The Prussian Empire, Colonel (Retired) Bill Gray introduces us to the great
gaming potential offered by a little-known battle fought on 27 June 1866, during the Austro-Prussian War.
Just when you thought there couldn’t possibly be another article
linked to the convoluted political mess known as the Schleswig-
Holstein question, from the shadows you hear a yell of “hold
my beer!”, and I’m back for another round! While this article
looks at the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, that and the Battle of
Trautenau ultimately happened due to the ancient Danish debacle
and the conflicts between the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein;
no, I won’t explain in detail, trust me, it’s better we just swiftly
move to easier to digest stuff!
What’s important to us, as wargamers, is that Prussian Chief
of Staff Helmuth von Moltke meticulously planned his
army’s march into Austria on separate routes via Saxony and
Bohemia with the hope of converging to deal Vienna’s legions
one decisive blow. For the Prussian 2nd Army, this meant
negotiating the many narrow passes through the Riesengebirge
48
(Giant Mountains) into Bohemia’s interior. In most cases,
Austrian resistance amounted to a mere speedbump that the hard
marching Pickelhaubers had to negotiate; but at the sleepy town
of Trautenau (now Trutnov in the Czech Republic), one plucky
Austrian general attempted to halt the advance entirely.
The resulting Battle of Trautenau remains a relatively unknown
engagement that is, nevertheless, almost perfect for tabletop
gaming. The size of the real estate and forces involved makes
for an easy contest at brigade level if you have a limited number
of players, yet it is also spot-on for battalion level if multiple
minions are pushing lead. It’s also a good match for a variety of
scales from 15mm and up; most importantly, in a war where the
Prussian needlegun butchered everybody and everything within
range, Trautenau stands out as Austria’s only legitimate victory.
By any measure, this battle was unique.
Below: The figures seen decorating this article are all by North Star
Military Figures; from their 1866 range, which caters for Prussians,
Bavarians, and Austrians suitable for the Austro-Prussian War.
 THE BATTLE OF TRAUTENAU - TROOP DISPOSITIONS
Bonin I Korps

PRUSSIA
AT WAR
Reserve 1st Cavalry...

Nieder Altstadt 1st

Ma Hu Parschnitz
lot ssa
ski r
NORTH

Pape
8th
Uh
lan Aupar River
s
Pa
rsc
hn
itze
rH
ts

ns Gr Barnekow
goo oss
Dra ma
Wigglesdorf 1st n
TRAUTENAU

Clauswitz Raussniz

Buddenbrock

uck
enbr
Hoh

Alt-Rognitz

ns 9th Uhlans
goo e l
ra nd Grivicic
d
D Mo
2n
Gablenz X Corps

Wimpffen
Knebel

TIMELINE OF BATTLE
Von Moltke’s operational plan and timetable had Prussian Crown
Prince Friedrich Wilhelm’s 2nd Army pass over the Bohemian
mountains via three routes. On the eastern flank was the Prussian
V Korps, in the center the Prussian Garde Korps, and in the west
General Alfred von Bonin’s I Korps. In this case, I Korps had
divided itself into two columns to negotiate the narrow passes
in the area, its Advanced Guard forming the right column of the
march, with the main body to the left, following. Terrible roads
hindered the Advanced Guard, so the main body of the Korps
arrived in Parschnitz early and had to sit for two hours to let
their comrades catch up.
Given timing was the most crucial aspect of how the Prussians
intended to fight this war, I will do honor to von Moltke and
crew here by looking at the resulting battle in a similar fashion.
It’s a lot less confusing this way too; so here, by the clock, is
what happened:
0745 hours - Mondl’s Brigade of Austrian General Baron
Ludwig von Gablenz’s X Corps arrived at the heights above
Trautenau, and supported by the 2nd Dragoons, occupied the
town itself. Mondl had started earlier than the rest of the corps,
so arrived first.
0800 hours - The rest of the Austrian X Corps began its march
to Trautenau.
1000 hours - The Prussian Advanced Guard arrived at Trautenau
and, after a nasty little firefight with Austrian Jaegers, managed
to push Mondl’s Brigade up the heights overlooking the town.
Mondl had already decided to withdraw anyway given his
orders were to not become decisively engaged with the enemy.
Nevertheless, the Prussians continued to attack, but the Austrians
repelled each effort.
1300 hours - Von Bonin received a message from the 1st
Gardeinfanteriedivision, offering their assistance as they had
heard all the gunfire from the engagement. Bizarrely, von Bonin
refused their offer.
1500 hours - Von Bonin finally managed to move Mondl’s
Austrians off their defensive position and occupied the
Hohenbruck and Alt-Rognitz. Von Bonin then withdrew half of
these soldiers to prepare to continue his advance in concert with
the rest of the army.
1530 hours - Von Gablenz arrived with the entire balance of his
X Corps. He immediately launched a counterattack, advancing
with Mondl’s Brigade on the Hohenbruck and Grivicic’s newly
arrived brigade on Alt-Rognitz. Wimpffen’s Brigade was ordered
to bypass Mondl and seize the Hopfenberg high ground above
Trautenau, while Knebel’s Brigade remained in reserve. A 40-
gun grand battery was formed to support the Austrian attacks.
1600 to 1630 hours - Prussian forces in full retreat towards
Parschnitz.

49
 Above: Austrian (front rank) and Hungarian (rear rank) infantry advance, screened by some Austrian Jagers. Church by Hovels.
Trees by Debris of War.

1800 hours - Acting on its own initiative, Knebel’s Brigade
joined those of Wimpffen and Grivicic to clear Trautenau and
the surrounding area. The Prussian 43rd Infanterieregiment and
the 3rd Grenadierregiment were particular noteworthy, acting as
an ad hoc rearguard for the Prussian retreat, but they too were
eventually driven off.
1900 hours - Von Gablenz spent the night in Trautenau, while
his weak-willed adversary found himself near Parschnitz,
precisely where he began his day. The body count included
4,787 Austrians and 1,338 Prussians, the disparity being caused
by the use of the Prussian needlegun. Indeed, the last Austrian
assault led by Knebel’s Brigade saw 900 good infantry put out of
action in a matter of minutes.
But, as Napoleon noted, morale is three times more important
than numbers or hardware in obtaining victory, and with von
Bonin (less than) in charge, the Prussians came in second on
that side of the ledger and thus lost the battle. The next day, the
war continued.

Above: Uhlans advance to support a Prussian artillery battery, guarded by Jagers.

50
PLAYING THE BATTLE OF TRAUTENAU
Fortunately, there are many good rulesets that already count Trautenau as one of their REFERENCES
included scenarios. My own Seven Weeks’ War digital expansion covers the battle Between Osprey and the internet, it’s easy
within my Age of Eagles system, while Bruce Weigle’s highly respected 1866 rules to get a great overview of the war, the
also cover Trautenau. These are but two of many, and there are plenty of figure options armies, the weapons, the battles, and the
too. One can find both sides of this conflict in multiple scales; in the photographs uniforms. With Kindle, archive.org, and
accompanying this article, you will see a plethora of 28mm figures from North Star Hathi Trust, it’s also cheap and sometimes
free. If you want to get an ultimate source
Military Figures’ 1866 range.
(and if you read German… in Fraktur
If you have them, Franco-Prussian War figures can be substituted for these in a pinch script), I recommend Die Gefechte bei
too. Given their similarity, yours truly uses 1870 Prussians for both 1866 and the latter Trautenau am 27. und 28. Juni 1866 by
conflict, and no one seems to notice. Given my world-famous cheapness… I mean Richard Schmitt PhD, published in Gotha
by Friedrich Andreas Perthes, 1892.
frugality, I doubt it would matter if they did! That’s 282 pages of military goodness
Here are some friendly suggestions for playing this battle, covering most of the unique that include orders of battle and casualty
environmental and military factors that make the Austro-Prussian War one of my lists on this single engagement.
favorites. They should be particularly useful for those who don’t have any 1866 specific
rules but want to modify Franco-Prussian games to get the job done.
THE NEEDLEGUN (ODER ZUNDNADELGEWEHR)
This is where I get off easy; I have already covered this revolutionary weapon for
Wargames Illustrated just a few of issues ago [see Wi411 - Ed]. Just remember that
the needlegun’s power came, not from the total number of physical casualties inflicted
(which were lower than most imagine), but the alarming rate at which men fell, thus
cracking morale much more quickly. Make morale break from less casualties if a unit is
under needlegun attack and add in the chance that a unit under fire will go to ground to
better defend themselves from the onslaught.

Above: Prussians (right) and Austrians (left) square up to each other across a stream. All figures by North Star.

Above: Prussian cavalry: Cuirassiers and Death’s Head Hussars (in red), force their way across the stream.

51
 PRUSSIAN ARTILLERY
How to describe Prussian artillery
succinctly… it sucked! This comes
as a surprise to many given that most
Prussian artillery was the fancy and new
breechloading Krupps versus Austrian
muzzle loaders. The issue was not the
hardware but how it was (or was not)
used. The Prussians were scared to
death that they might lose one of these
menacing contraptions, thus they tended
to husband and deploy them where
they were secure from capture. This
meant that they were not up close and
personal with the infantry, who they were
supposed to support, and tended to leave
altogether if things got too real. They
were not ‘Battery of the Dead’ quality,
and the problem of battlefield resupply
exacerbated the problem. Ammunition
trains were habitually located far to the
rear of march columns, and there simply
wasn’t a decent process in place to get
ammunition from the trains up to the
gunners engaging the enemy. Often this
meant the withdrawal of a battery when
the shot and shell ran low.
There are many ways to duplicate this
on the tabletop; but for my own efforts,
I assign a negative dice roll modifier if a
battery strays too far away from formed
troops while also denying the guns
any opportunity to attach to a combat
formation. Likewise, I have reinstituted
the old Fire & Fury ‘Low on Ammo’ rule
for Prussian breechloaders, and given the
counterbattery results are rigged to make
artillery under fire pick up and move to
the rear, I use a modifier so Prussian guns
are more susceptible to that possibility.
AUSTRIAN MASSED
INFANTRY ASSAULT
This is one of those situations where
you almost need an ‘idiot rule’ to make
Go to wargameillustrated.net to view more photos and
the Orbats for this battle. Search for ‘Trautenau’.
52
the game historically accurate, yet you
don’t want to force the player to be
stupid. The Austrians drew the wrong
conclusions from their 1859 war with
France and implemented them here.
They had an excellent rifle with superb
long-range accuracy in the Lorenz yet
were constantly skewered by bayonet
based furia Francaise tactics; this led to
them rushing headlong into their Prussian
opposition - a la France - but with less
effective results.
The issue was that the rifle was so new
to many soldiers in the Franco-Austrian
War that they had to learn how to use the
Lorenz while on the march. To ensure
accuracy, training was a bit more complex
than the norm; you had to readjust the
sights every time the target moved closer
or further away. The French, in their fast-
moving attack columns, discovered that
by using l’attacque brusque technique,
they could advance under the Lorenz’s
extended arc of fire and be face-to-face
with the foe before he could readjust his
sites. Admittedly, they then deployed into
line to shoot and charge, but somebody
forgot to tell the Austrians about that little
wrinkle.
Shift ahead a decade, and the Austrians
advanced in massed, battalion sized,
closed columns of men who then put
aside the ‘inconvenience’ of shooting and
relied on cold steel. It worked against the
Danes (who did not have breechloading
rifles) in 1864; but against the Prussians,
it was an unmitigated disaster.
For my own rules, we allow the Austrians
a positive modifier when charging
but prohibit any offensive fire. These
formations always count as Massed
Targets for enemy fire, and unless they
choose to withdraw, they are also required
to charge any enemy formation on open
ground within range.
UNIT QUALITY
Any formation with the word Jaeger
as part of its title should be Elite. The
same with Prussian infantry sporting
the term Grenadier. These doughty
lads were originally the first 12 regular
infantry regiments of the new Prussian
army that took down Napoleon from
Befreiungskriege through Waterloo. As
such, they got a spiffy name upgrade and
cultivated a deep history of hard-nosed
fighting and constant success. Otherwise,
during this period of warfare, I have yet
to find any reason to make a unit Elite
just because it has the term Garde on its
nameplate.
UNIT STRENGTH
For the life of me, I do not know why I
can pull casualty counts for this war down
to the individual soldier (with name)
level, but not even general staff studies
can tell me how many men an army had
on the day of battle. Not to worry as
Trautenau was fought at the beginning of
the war and thus both armies were at full
strength. So, you need 18 figures to create
a full-strength Austrian battalion, heck,
give ‘em 21!
LEADERSHIP
Gablenz should be Charismatic, bring
positive modifiers if he attaches himself
to a unit, have perks for being aggressive,
and perhaps an extended command and
control radius. Von Bonin should get
nothing of the sort; if you use the army
level cohesion process, I’d make the
Prussians about 15% lower for this battle.
I’d also say that it’s not fair to try and
get him killed so his (likely far more
competent) chief of staff takes over (yes,
it’s been tried).
Now get out there and charge, good
gaming, and may the dice forever be in
your favor!
 ROMMEL’S
FAVOURITES

Warlord Games Bolt Action plastic Bersaglieri burst out from a Charlie Foxtrot Models ‘Pantile’ house.
Watch out for a painting guide for this building in a future issue.
Dom Sore looks at the
Bersaglieri, dapper
Italian elites who
made a huge impact
in WWII’s North
African campaign.

“The German soldier has astonished the world;

the Italian Bersaglieri has astonished the German soldier.”
This quote, attributed to Erwin Rommel,
is inscribed on a plaque dedicated to
the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 12th Bersaglieri
regiments that fought at El Alamein
and Mersa Matruh. While there is no
direct evidence that the Desert Fox
spoke those exact words about the
Italian sharpshooters, the statement
is useful as a starting point for this
article; it strongly counters a common
misconception about the Italian forces
in North Africa - that they were a bit
rubbish! That’s a misconception I will
hopefully lay to rest over the next few
pages. Whatever may really have been
said, and whoever said it, let’s start with
the assumption that the Bersaglieri were
astonishing and go from there!
The Bersaglieri were the strong
backbone of the Regio Escertio (Royal
Italian Army), and at the start of World
War Two, they were formed into 12
regiments. Of these six would see
Erwin Rommel
service in North Africa: 5th, 7th, 8th,
9th, 10th, and 12th. These were split
between the 131st Armoured Division
(5th), 132nd Armoured Division (8th),
133rd Armoured Division (12th),
101st Motorised Division (9th), 102nd
Motorised Division (7th), and the
German Division von Broich (10th).
These regiments were, on paper, formed
of three battalions each, one of which was
a motorcycle battalion. Dispersed among

54
 BERSAGLIERI EVOLUTION
The Bersaglieri were formed in 1836 as part of the Royal
Sardinian Army. These were troops born out of necessity;
the Sardinians did not have the funds for cavalry, so
fast-moving infantry were required. The Bersaglieri were

WARFARE
DESERT
trained to run, then run some more, while also being
highly trained marksmen. They fast became elites and
were used as light or shock troops, depending on the
situation. During World War One some became bicycle
troops to aid their mobility; by World War Two, they
had evolved into an elite, partly mechanised force. They
served with distinction everywhere that Italian forces
went into battle, and they are still a mainstay of the
Italian Army to this day.

the quicker moving Italian divisions, the

entire regiment would have had enough
transport to move where it needed to be
at speed. They also came with their own
anti-tank guns and many machine guns;
but their tactics, predicated towards rapid
movement, meant there were normally no
other artillery assets available to them.
This instantly creates an intriguing force
to build a tabletop army around, with an
interesting structure and a lot of hobby
project possibilities. There are also tons
of potential gaming opportunities to play
out in the battles that they took part in
across North Africa.
THE NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN
Germany’s success in conquering France
freed up Italian forces on the French
borders of Europe and Africa. With
British forces retreating in disarray,
Mussolini (emboldened by his ‘modern
Caesar’ hubris) saw his chance to
invade Egypt. The initial invasion order
never happened as the Regio Escertio
was not prepared, but several months
later, on 8 September 1940, the Italians
made their move. They met with some
initial success, taking the British by
surprise, but were eventually stalled
by the defensive formations at Mersa
Matruh. The Bersaglieri Regiments were
all deployed elsewhere at this point;
how things might have gone if these
astonishing combatants had been in
the thick of it straight away is a ‘what
if?’ option you may wish to examine in
miniature!
With the Italian offensive stalled,
there was a period of recuperation and
resupply. This calm suited the British
far more than the Italians, who were
now operating beyond the limits of
their supply lines. In December 1940,
the British Army launched their own
offensive and quickly started to reverse
the Italian gains, and by January 1941,
they were almost at Tripoli before they
were halted, hindered by exhaustion
rather than any Italian defence.
It was into this maelstrom that the first
Bersaglieri troops were launched, with
the 8th Bersaglieri regiment attached to
the 132nd Armoured Division ‘Ariete’
as part of Rommel’s March 1941 Italo-
German offensive. This offensive was
not authorised but became a fully-fledged
race to Egypt; the bulk of the fighting
was done by Italian forces, and the 8th
were soon reinforced by the 101st and
102nd Divisions (Trieste and Trento
respectively) bringing more Bersaglieri
regiments into the theatre.

Above: Hamming up the North African feel - a group of Bersaglieri take cover
behind some ancient ruins.

We have a special treat for you in the photos accompanying this article - an exclusive
look at the forthcoming plastic Italian Bersaglieri from Warlord Games. Stay tuned to
Warlord’s socials for further information, including news on their release date.

55
 FIRST CONTACT
The Allies were caught off guard, and the
sudden attack led them to believe they
were facing much greater numbers than
they were, allowing for a rapid German
and Italian advance. The Bersaglieri’s
first major combat, therefore, came a
little later, when they were formed into
three columns by Rommel to launch an
attack that would cut off the retreating
Allies in the El Mechili area.
The 3rd Indian Motor Brigade initially
repulsed them before attempting to break
out through the gap between Colonna
Fabris and Colonna Montemurro. This
was spotted and soon the British were
under heavy attack. The 8th Bersaglieri
put in a great effort, stopped the breakout,
and the British column surrendered,
handing over 1,500 captives. A further
2,000 troops were captured, along with
many essential supplies, by Colonna
Montemurro.
The Germans arrived and took most of
the captured stock away, including the
AEC Dorchester vehicle that would be
christened ‘Max’ and become Rommel’s
mobile headquarters. The Bersaglieri’s
first combat with the British troops had
been an overwhelming Italian victory,
with some 3,500 men captured for the
loss of 22 killed, 52 wounded, and 19
missing Italians. Colonel
Montemurro received the
first German award given
to an Italian in North Africa
when Rommel presented
him with his Iron Cross
First Class.
56
THE BERSAGLIERI BUILD THEIR
REPUTATION
Operation Brevity was the first attempt
by the British to relieve Tobruk. Much
of the fighting in this limited offensive
was directed at nipping out the salient
the Axis had formed, and the defence fell
heavily on the Bersaglieri units deployed
there. The Halfaya pass was lost to
the British, but Colonna Montemurro
refused to retreat and inspired the other
strongpoints to hold until a German
counterattack released the pressure.
The attack then moved on to Tobruk
where the Ariete division was joined
by the 102nd Trento Division with the
7th Bersaglieri Regiment. Both the 7th
and 8th regiments would be involved
in the fighting around Tobruk, and they
suffered heavily when the Australians
attacked Point 201. Losses included
the death of Lieutenant Colonel Fabris,
but soon after this, the resolute Italians
captured Redoubts 4, 5, 6, and 7, though
more back and forth attacks saw the
Australians recapture Redoubt 7, only to
lose it again!
OPERATION CRUSADER
After settling in for a siege, the planned
capture of Tobruk was stymied by the
pre-emptive British relief attempt -
Operation Crusader. The Bersaglieri from
Trieste Division were key in repulsing the
Allied breakout attempt; at Bir el Gobi,
the Bersaglieri were in well prepared and
camouflaged positions when the British
decided to launch a cavalry attack. The
22nd Armoured Brigade attacked the
area; but with insufficient support from
artillery, anti-tank weapons, or infantry,
the British (who had believed the Italians
would run) met stern resistance and
eventual defeat. The Italian left wing
did get overrun, but the lack of Allied
infantry meant the Italians could simply
return to their guns when the British
armour departed. The Italian defence
shocked the British, delayed the attack
considerably, and took out 50 British
tanks compared to 34 Italian.
It wasn’t all glory through excellence;
on 29 November, a comedy of errors
occurred when the tanks and Bersaglieri
of the Ariete division wandered into the
positions of the
21st New Zealand
Battalion. The
Italians reacted
first, captured a
large quantity
of supplies, and
with the aid of
the 3rd and 5th
Bersaglieri, also
captured a field
hospital and
released some 300
German prisoners.
The Bersaglieri advance, supported
by a (Warlord Games, plastic)
German Sd.Kfz 222 armoured car.

THE AXIS ON THE ADVANCE AGAIN
A FIGHTING RETREAT
Despite these successes, the supply
situation was rapidly becoming untenable
for the Axis, and Rommel tried to form
a fighting retreat. Communication was
not great, and on 6 December, the Ariete
was caught in a trap and in real danger.
Through the quick actions of the attached
Bersaglieri, the division managed to
withdraw to El Adem. The 9th Regiment
would engage in a pitched battle with the
6th New Zealand Brigade to little benefit
of either side; further attacks involving
Trento were ineffective, and by 10
December, the Italians and Germans were
beginning their retreat to the Gazala Line;
the siege of Tobruk was over. Rommel
used the battered Italians as cover for the
withdrawal of his German forces never
letting the brave Italian forces know that
part of the plan! The Italian forces, often
led by the Bersaglieri, made the most of a
bad deal and began retreating as best they
could, utilising whatever transport had
not been taken by the Germans.
FEATHERS IN THEIR HATS
The iconic feather in the hat is what
many will think of when they consider
the Bersaglieri. It offers some real visual
pizzaz, and it is one of the reasons I
started a 28mm Italian army for Bolt
Action [He’s a dedicated follower of
fashion, is Dom - Ed]. These feathers are
traditionally worn on the right-hand side
of the helmet as opposed to the left like
most other units across all armed forces.
The initial reason for this was to provide
shade for the marksmen’s eyes, rather
than to confuse their opponents into
thinking they are going the wrong way!
Bersaglieri still wear the feathers in their
helmets and not just when on parade.
By 1 January 1942, the Italo-German The British should have 1,000 points
forces were back where Rommel had of troops taken from a suitable desert
started his ‘reconnaissance’ earlier the selector. No troops will be deployed on
previous year. All units were in desperate the table, all will arrive as part of the
need of resupply and refit; Ariete was first wave.
down to 1,500 active personnel and just
The Italian troops are not allowed to
three tanks. Other Italian forces were not
move towards their long table edge for
much better off, and a lull was needed to
enable a refit. The foreshortened supply
four turns, after which they should try
and leave; the Italians win if they can get
lines allowed the Italo-German force to
more than half their units off the table.
regroup much quicker, and the Italians
Any other result is a British victory.
were able to introduce more Bersaglieri
units into the fray with their respective BACK IN THE THICK OF IT
divisions.
After refitting, Rommel was off
RETREAT TO EL ADEM ON THE again, and it was like déjà vu as he
TABLETOP (FOR BOLT ACTION) caught the British off-guard a second
time. The initial moves by the Axis
The Italians are trying to escape from the
were unopposed, but Ariete and its
approaching British, and the Bersaglieri
8th Bersaglieri were the first to see
are tasked with holding the line to allow
serious combat near Sceleidima when
their comrades in arms to get away.
encountering the 4th Indian Division.
This should be played on a 6x4 table
with the Italians deploying anywhere
across the length of the table up to the
centre line. There should be four squads
of Bersaglieri in hastily improvised
defences that count as soft cover. They
also have four non-vehicle support teams
drawn from the normal Italian support
options, but only one artillery piece can
be taken, either a Light Anti-tank gun or
Light Howitzer. The other three can be
any combination the Italians wish.
Right: What do
you do if the Breda
machine gun you
are firing is hit by
an enemy artillery
shell, destroying
the weapon and
taking your arm off at the same time? Well, if you are Aurelio
Zamboni of the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment, fighting against the
British somewhere near Sida Breghisc, Libya, you pick up your
mutilated arm and throw it at the approaching enemy tanks! As
seen on the cover of this Italian propaganda newspaper from 1942.
57
 Above: Unlike the figures seen elsewhere in this article, these Warlord Games Bersaglieri are painted in the standard grey-green of the
Italian Army’s ‘European style’ uniform.
After overrunning the Indian positions,
they managed to capture the fort but,
despite almost surrounding the Indian
troops, their opposition managed to
escape. As the days, weeks, and months
progressed the British Army was flung
further back in disarray.
At the end of May, Operation Venezia
was launched, and yet again it was Ariete
first into action. Tasked with taking
Point 171, 6km south of Bir Hacheim,
they faced off against an Indian force
again, this time the 3rd Indian Motor
Brigade. After fierce fighting, the Italians
were successful at overrunning the
positions. The 8th Regiment mopped
up the survivors. Just four days later,
Ariete was in defensive positions on the
Aslagh ridge when the British attempted
a counterattack. Though the Bersaglieri
manned 47/32 anti-tank guns and the
tanks of Ariete, they repulsed the British
inflicting heavy losses. Within three
weeks, Tobruk would fall; the Bersaglieri
played a key role. Again, it was Ariete
to the fore, exploiting a gap in the Allied
lines created by the DAK to attack and
capture Fort Pilastrino. They then split
Above: Bersaglieri heavy weapons teams. Left: 8mm medium mortar. Right: Elefantino anti-tank gun.
58
into two columns to attack the South
Africans defending Ras el Medauar,
capturing some 700 troops. They would
also take the surrender of the final units
to hold out on 22 June.
The Italo-German forces were again at
the end of their range and in desperate
need of refitting. The various Bersaglieri
had maybe 5,000 effective troops left
amongst them; Ariete had only ten
running tanks, 15 artillery pieces, and
600 Bersaglieri. On the last day of June,
troops of 7th Bersaglieri regiment got
closer to Cairo than any Axis troops
would for the remainder of the war.
ASLAGH RIDGE ON THE
TABLETOP
This is very much a defensive scenario,
to be played across the length of a 6x4
table. One table end should be raised
to represent the ridge, which should
project out from the short table edge by
12" and be accessible at an incline from
the tabletop. The ridge is the Italian
deployment zone, while British forces
will enter from the other short edge.
The Italians start with two 47/32 Anti-
Tank guns and one 88mm Italian crewed
gun all in hard cover emplacements on
the table and equally spaced along the
ridge line. They also have two medium
mortar teams in foxholes, and between
two and four Bersaglieri squads that are
also in hard cover emplacements. Three
M13 tanks and a truck mounted 90mm
anti-tank gun wait in reserve and can
enter at any time the Italian player wishes
within the scope of the rules.
The British force is formed of M3 Grants,
and I suggest you start with three and see
how they get on. For every three Grants
deployed, the British player gets a squad
of regular infantry and a preparatory
bombardment, but this cannot cause any
actual casualties, only something like
pins in Bolt Action. The British forces are
recycled until they have lost ten Grants,
or they manage to get two off the Italian
ridge edge.
If you find it too hard for one side or the
other, then feel free to tweak the forces.
THE BATTLES OF EL ALAMEIN
The First Battle of El Alamein caught the
Axis somewhat cold, but they managed to
stave off immediate defeat. It was a back-
and-forth series of large-scale skirmishes;
attack and counterattack were met with
the most minimal of gains. Over time, the
Italian defensive positions grew stronger,
and on the 21 June, the 2nd New Zealand
Division was repulsed by effective
Bersaglieri fire. This was aided by their
excellently prepared defences and the
expert marksmanship of the Bersaglieri
in the face of almost overwhelming
British numbers.
Both sides halted and took stock, but
Rommel, recognising a prolonged period
of consolidation would be far more
beneficial to his enemy, was quickly back
on the attack. Starting on 30 August, his
miscalculated offensive was over almost
as soon as it began, and the Axis had to
withdraw with Rommel yet again using
the Italians to protect his German forces.
The British forces, under Montgomery,
finally built their reserves up to a level
they were happy with, and on 23 October,
they launched Operation Lightfoot. The
Allies concentrated the fighting on the
north, and though slow progress was
made along their attack lanes, it was
progress nonetheless.
Local counterattacks showed some
promise but often came at a high cost. 7th
Regiment was tasked with retaking Point
28 from the Australians, and though they
gained ground, they lost nearly half of
their initial attacking force.
Rommel decided to pull back; guess
who covered the retreat! Things had
escalated - the Germans were not averse
to commandeering transport from their
Italian ‘friends’ at gun point so they
could make a motorised retreat while the
Italians footslogged it back. Ariete would
be disbanded on 21 November after being
at the forefront of most of the fighting in
North Africa and doing more than their
fair share of the damage to the British.
Despite Rommel’s efforts, supply issues
had repeatedly halted his advances; the
Allies had broken the back of the Axis in
North Africa, helped massively by the US
landings of Operation Torch.
THE END OF THE WAR IN NORTH
AFRICA
As Rommel retreated in the East, he
was also trying not to crumble in the
West. This was made a little easier by
the terrain and the green US opponents
he faced. There was even a successful
counterattack at Kasserine; a battalion
of the 5th Bersaglieri Regiment took
Djebel Semmama and helped open up
the US positions. US numbers would
eventually tell, however, and even after
some excellent defensive work, the
battle-hardened Bersaglieri were pushed
back. From now on, it would be retreat
after retreat, and on 9 May 1943, the
Germans surrendered in North Africa.
Four days later the Italian 1st Army
under General Messe surrendered, and
the resistance of the Bersaglieri in North
Africa finally ended.
BERSAGLIERI IN GAMES
The Bersaglieri are often treated as
Elite troops in WWII rulesets, but any
bonuses they get tend to be offset by
the standard drawbacks that get applied
to Italian armies. Unfortunate cultural
stereotypes drive the traits of Italian
armies a little too much in our wargaming
rules, if you ask me; it’s an easy approach
to encapsulate an entire nation with a
caricatured trait or two, but the negative
(sometimes bordering on offensive)
traits seem to be rather more rampant in
WWII than in other wargaming periods.
Not to say some of these don’t apply, but
often the Italians were outmanoeuvred
rather than outfought; and in Africa, often
thrown to the wolves by Rommel to save
his own skin.
Hopefully, after reading this article and
seeing the great many times that the
Italians and the Bersaglieri were at the
sharp end of combat in North Africa,
you’ll agree that they have earned some
‘buffs’. Men who have changed their
marching band to a running band through
their dedication and fitness [see ‘run, then
run some more’ - Ed] deserve better!
REAL ELITES -
MODIFYING THE TROOPS
Since their inception, the Bersaglieri have
been highly trained, very fit, and crack
shots. They should get the highest morale
possible (quite a contrast to how Italians
tend to get treated by rulesets), and as
they often fought on when the odds were
bleak, a bonus when outnumbered would
be an excellent and characterful extra.
59
 RUN, THEN RUN SOME MORE
As befits an elite organisation, the
Bersaglieri are renowned for being fit.
They do not march, they run, and nothing
shows that better than the Fanfara. The
Bersaglieri band plays their instruments
while running and the videos of them
doing this through the streets of Rome
are particularly impressive. One day I
will see this live, but until then there’s
always YouTube!
Watch the Fanfara: bit.ly/3Rby1vV

Their extreme fitness is a tricky one to balance in BERSAGLIERI IN BOLT ACTION

gameplay; an obvious change would be to add an
extra inch or two to movement, but those couple For the Bersaglieri in Bolt Action, try increasing their base cost from 13pts to
of inches might be a little too powerful in games 15pts per soldier and allow them to Fire when they Run as if it was an advance;
such as Bolt Action or Chain of Command where still at -1 to hit but an extra thing for your opponent to think about!
efficient manoeuvring is such a key gameplay
element. The ability to run unimpeded when other
troops must walk would be a good compromise,
and perhaps as the battle goes on, their stamina
could be represented by shaking off detrimental
effects such as pinning easier.
The Bersaglieri aren’t snipers, but their
marksmanship skill needs to be represented. In
conjunction with their fitness, they could suffer
no firing penalties for moving or move and shoot
where other units might not be allowed.
Fully one third of Bersaglieri troops were mounted
on Motorbikes. If you are going for accuracy, and Above: The Warlord Bersaglieri in their ‘naked’ plastic form.
playing above platoon level, you should add some Below: An Italian Bersaglieri regiment clashes with British 8th Army, on the
motorbikes into your force. They bring tactical outskirts of a village somewhere in North Africa. Note the British Humber Mk II
variety and a new challenge to your army’s play Armoured Car, borrowed from The Gentleman’s War Starter Set - just released
style as well as being visually awesome; just look by Warlord Games and reviewed in this issue’s Observation Post.
at Arthur Fonzerelli!

60
 28mm 19th Century Austrian figures for wars
against France and Piedmont in 1859.
We are expanding our range of figures and now have Line
Infantry and Jägers, Uhlans, Hussars and Cuirassiers.
We also offer a figure painting service.

piranswarriors.co.uk
tel: 07853 909810 email: piranswarriors@gmail.com
 THE GLOSTERS’ LAST STAND
- PART TWO

In our last issue, Charles Rowntree showed us how to recreate the landscape around the
River Imjin; this time he talks about gaming over his lovingly crafted tabletop contours.

Above: The game underway at Partizan, May 2022.

It would be foolish of me to assume that a horde of Wi readers
quickly crafted their own custom Korean War boards after
reading my article last month, but I hope my terrain project
inspired some readers to investigate this fascinating conflict.
Maybe you’re now eager to take your figures to the River Imjin
and refight the Glosters’ Last Stand yourself, or you have ideas
for creating a participation game of your own to take to a show.
If so, this article is for you; it delves into my scenario creation
for the battle and covers the
various considerations that
ensured it was a fun game for
those who played at Partizan,
May 2022.
A HELLISHLY GOOD
GAME SYSTEM
I decided from the outset to
use All Hell Let Loose, David
Wasilewski’s 6mm WWII
ruleset, for this participation
game. The Korean War
was mostly fought by
soldiers using weapons and
equipment from the Second
World War, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch. I’d need to make
some adaptions for the scenario and the period, but there were
many reasons for choosing these rules:
Go with what you know
I playtested the rules during development, so I am intimately
familiar with them.
adaptability
The system is simple to modify, so the scenario designer (me!)
can easily reflect the nuances of the battle, the terrain, or troop
characteristics in a seamless way.
Simplicity
There are three core mechanics: activation, firing, and assault.
This makes the game easy to explain, pick up, and play - essential
when players may only play a couple of turns at a show.
StrateGic and tactical movement
Crucial for this battle is enabling the Chinese to move large
numbers of troops across the table but constraining their ability
to attack.

62
dice out of the baG activation
Players do not have to wait long to act, increasing
engagement with the game.
unit Size and turn duration aGnoStic

warfare
Modern
The game uses a manoeuvre group for command
purposes, containing stands that act individually. This
can be a battalion with stands as a platoon or company,
or a platoon with stands representing individual soldiers.
flexible command SyStem
Players do not require maps, command arrows, or
written orders. This flexibility is constrained through
the activation mechanism and means players react to the
situation rather than to a plan put in place by somebody
else. It minimises bookkeeping and speeds up the game.
ADAPTING THE RULES
I ran a rough playtest with All Hell Let Loose’s designer
David Wasilewski on my freshly constructed board.
We were both full of ideas for rule adaptions and
improvements, and got figures onto the tabletop to see
what worked and what didn’t. Once that was done, I
completed a full solo playthrough to perfect the timings
and tweak the rules. Finally, I ran a first day test game
with David and another friend, Robert Owens, who was
unfamiliar with the rules; this allowed me to perfect the
way I presented the game to a newbie.
I was pleased to find that the rules held up very well
and would hopefully do the same in the hustle and
bustle of a wargames show. I only needed to make
some minor amendments, mostly related to terrain, to
translate things to Korean War gaming and the Glosters’
Last Stand specifically. Above: Charles (left) with David Wasilewski, author of the All Hell Let
Loose rules, during the test games they played.

Partizan, Phalanx, and the Joy of Six - recording the end of

Above: The board packed up and ready to make its journey to
Partizan, May 2022.
Game approach
I decided that I would use a company as the main
manoeuvre element and that an individual stand would
represent between 20 and 30 men or two to three vehicles.
Game turns would usually represent two-hour periods,
although the initial turns would represent shorter periods of
time to get the momentum going early on and bring troops
into the thick of it. In total, the game would comprise 36
turns covering the two days and three nights of the battle.
I would aim to fight 12 turns at each show I attended -
show situation on the tabletop and starting the next game from
there, with background information saved for new players to
reference if they wanted to know what had come before.
terrain houSe Show ruleS
River Imjin
This central and impressive terrain feature needed some special
rules, and to make the river a major consideration for players it:
• granted a bonus to firing at and destroying troops in the Imjin.
• applied a close assault bonus to troops fighting against others
in the river and a penalty to troops fighting from the Imjin.
• took a full move to cross.
• meant any troops crossing the river would always go last in
the turn sequence.
Hilltops
There was no point spending so much time creating a realistic
contoured board if those hills had no effect on the game.
Special rules gave the varying verticality tactical weight and
importance by:
• imposing a penalty to troops firing at hilltop trenches.
• giving troops an assault penalty for attacking trenches up
steep slopes.
• applying movement restrictions to vehicles climbing the steep
hillsides.
• restricting tanks from targeting units on hillsides due to the
elevation constraints.

63
 korean war Special ruleS
Improved UN communication
and technology
Although many of the UN’s advancements
in warfare were stymied by the terrain in the
Korean War, I wanted to give UN players at
least some bonuses. With that in mind I:
• let the UN player call in artillery as ambush
fire in response to Chinese attacks.
• let medevac helicopters automatically
remove one disorder from a stand adjacent to
them each turn.
• allowed aircraft conducting ground attacks
with napalm to attack four targets rather than
three.
• enhanced the Centurion tanks, reflecting the Above: The game underway at Partizan, May 2022, with the
first battlefield deployment of a tank with a
imposing terrain viewed from the Chinese players’ edge.
stabilised gun.
Day and night
Both sides were adept at night fighting,
EXTRA CUSTOM ELEMENTS TO MAKE
but the Chinese were more likely to make
THE PARTICIPATION GAME STAND OUT
attacks at night while the UN would
be more effective in daylight when the
Rolling with style Chinese were vulnerable to UN aircraft,
which limited their manoeuvrability:
I persuaded my mum to create a UN themed
dicebag for drawing activation dice and • Darkness has no impact on movement
sourced two sets of D6s - red with a Chinese or activation.
emblem and black with a UN emblem.
• At night, the Chinese have four
Reference cards Above: These custom dice show the activation dice, decreasing to three during
Rather than use a Quick Reference Rule sheet, attention to detail that was put into daylight.
I broke down the key sections of the rules the game, with each side getting a D6
onto four cards. This reduced information with a custom face on the six. • At night, the UN player has three
overload and helped players see the relevant activation dice, increasing to four during
information. These were colour coded to daylight.
identify them from a distance.
Command and control
I also made a sheet with unit stats for both
sides and a contour map of the battlefield for The Chinese were reliant on ammunition
reference and discussion purposes. and resupply being hand carried to the
battlefield, which limited their ability
to carry the fight to the Glosters. To
Table dressing
I picked up small Chinese and UN flags with represent this, I implemented:
stands and placed them at opposite ends
Above: One of the QRSs; this one • improved responsiveness of UN aircraft
of the table, used menu holders to display
covers all the details of firing. and artillery. Both provided sterling
more information on the battle, and put an
information stand about the rules and figures support during the battle that was crucial
used in the game to answer the most common to enabling the Glosters to hold out for as
questions attendees might have about the table. long as they did.
Tokens
• a rule so that any company that is not
Two pence coins, with flags and identification activated may undertake a move at the
markers to track each company, act as tokens. end of each turn at half speed if the
Custom explosion markers, colour coded company is deployed on the table.
using a traffic light system, track casualties on
stands. This allows casual passers-by to see National characteristics
where the action is immediately.
Simple to pick up ‘generic’ rules for the
Objective and event cards nations involved were essential, so all
I created objective and event cards to players could quickly get a feel of the
help players join, play a few turns, leave, forces. With that in mind I gave:
and potentially come back. Each card has
the objective, the timeframe, the victory • the Chinese the ability to remove
conditions, and victory points awarded when disorder easily but at the cost of losing
achieved. I found these to be very useful stands.
because I could give them to players at the
show, and they could readily understand what
• the Chinese a bonus to activation when
their forces were trying to achieve at any point assaulting.
in the game. Above: The Ambush at Gloster Crossing card - • the Glosters improved resilience whilst
one of many Charles created for the game.
dug in on a hilltop.

64
THE OPPOSING FORCES
the GloSterS
The main force available to the UN
in this battle is the 1st Battalion of the
Gloucestershire Regiment. It comprised
four fighting companies, A to D, with a
support company and attached mortar
troop. Each fighting company would be
represented by seven stands of infantry.
The support company would be made up
of three stands, making a total of 31 stands
present on the table.
The Glosters were made up of
professional soldiers with some
reservists and volunteer National
Servicemen. Many had fought in WWII
and morale was high. I treat them as
veterans in the game.
In addition, the Glosters would have off Above: The Glosters occupy a defensive position in what was likely a staged photograph.
table artillery support from a battery of
eight 25-pounders. Air Support would be
available during the daylight turns and soldiers but lacked the sophistication of THE FIGURES
included ground attack aircraft, observer the UN military forces. In this game, they Adler Miniatures made up the bulk of the
planes, and medevac helicopters. are considered regular. figures for this game. I’ve been buying
The remainder of 29th Brigade do not The Chinese do not field any artillery, their figures for 30 years and love them.
play an active part in the Glosters’ battle aircraft, or tanks, but they do get to field The Chinese are Winter Russians; the
as they were themselves engaged in an a huge force. Over the course of the figures are depicted in the padded suits
epic struggle. Adjacent US and Republic game, the Chinese player will field 45 with trapper style hat and are armed
of Korea forces were fighting battles of companies! with rifles and PPSh-41s, making
their own too them identical to most of the Chinese
the chineSe troops. I used Russian regular troops for
command, HMGs, and Mortars. I painted
The main force available to the Chinese just over 500 figures and based them
is the 63rd Army, comprising three four to a stand, each of which measured
divisions, each of three regiments with 25mm by 18mm.
MATCHING THE TERRAIN
three battalions each of three companies.
Each company comprises ten stands of I ensured that the Chinese bases matched The Glosters are represented by Royal
infantry, one mortar, and one HMG stand. the hillsides and blended in more, whilst Marines with berets and are accurately
the Gloster bases had lighter earth tones armed with rifles, Stens, and Brens.
Many of these troops had fought in Mao and brighter greens, to allow for instant Unfortunately, Adler do not produce
Zedong’s army for years, first against the visual distinction on the tabletop. figures wearing woollen comforters! I
Japanese and then the Nationalists. Some based the Glosters in threes and fours,
may even have been defeated Nationalists using AK textured paints to create dug
pressed into the army. They were capable outs and shell scrapes for them to stand in.

Above: A Chinese Mortar represented by

Russian regulars.
Below: A view showing the dug in defenders.

Above: The defence of Gloster Hill - A Company, 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
on Hill 235. Artwork by Steve Noon from CAM 328 Imjin River 1951 © Osprey Publishing
www.ospreypublishing.com

65
 GHQ tanks, guns, and vehicles were
used for the small number of vehicles
that make an appearance on the board.
Aircraft were by Tumbling Dice from
their 1/600 range and included F80
Shooting Stars, Stinson Sentinels, and
a C119 Flying Boxcar. Osmy Ozdial
provided Sioux medevac helicopters
PLAYING THE GAME Above: C119 Flying Boxcar from
Tumbling Dice.
The Chinese objective is to control a road
designated by the UN as route 5 Yankee Below: Sioux medevac helicopter. Above: A dug out made with AK texture paint
or 5Y. This was little more than a dirt surrounds this big gun.
track, barely wider than a vehicle. It ran Below: A GHQ tank rumbles along.
broadly north to south, crossed the Imjin
at a ford known as Gloster Crossing,
traversed plains filled with dry and fallow
paddy fields, then wound through steep
hillsides. Control of this road would
allow the Chinese to rapidly advance
south towards Seoul with opportunities
to outflank or envelope adjacent US or
Republic of Korea divisions.

Above: A view of Hill 148 (left) and D Company’s original position (right), Above: An airstrike on Chinese assaulting up the slopes of Gloster Hill.
as seen from the forward slopes of Hill 235.

Initially, the Chinese plan anticipated a the tacticS attacks and wait to be relieved, whereas
rapid assault to overwhelm the forward soldiers caught in the open were very
The UN are on the defensive here with
UN positions, with follow up forces vulnerable.
their infantry dug in on hilltops or ridges
catching and destroying the Gloster
and a heavy reliance on artillery and The Chinese were aggressive attackers
main body as they inevitably retreated.
air support. Experience had shown that and willing to pay an enormous
The spirited resistance they faced from
disciplined troops in all round defence blood cost to achieve success. UN air
the Glosters changed their approach, as
could hold their ground against Chinese superiority caused the Chinese to move
the battle developed, to envelopment,
isolation, and then destruction of the
Glosters.
The UN did not expect a massive Chinese
onslaught and were caught off-guard.
The Glosters were isolated from the UN
troops on each flank and had insufficient
numbers to adequately hold their ground.
The UN standing orders were to hold and
fight; the Glosters, therefore, deployed in
all round defence on hilltops controlling
route 5Y. Initially, they were only able
to retire as the formations on their flanks
retired. The battle then morphed into one
of survival, trying to hold out until a relief
force attempted to reach them, then finally
trying to break out when ammunition was
completely expended.

Above: A Flying Boxcar attempts resupply.

66
THE ASSAULT ON THE GLOSTERS
The Chinese assault on the Glosters’ positions: 10.30pm, 22 April to approximately 10.00am, 24 April 1951

BRITISH UNITS CHINESE UNITS

1st Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment 63rd Army
1. Gloster Crossing ‘fighting patrol’ A. 187th Division
2. A Company B. 189th Division
3. D Company
4. B Company A 4
Hill 144
5. C Company 8 B
Imjin
River
6. Support Company 1
6
7. Battalion headquarters Hill 316
3 11
Hill 182 9
Gloster Crossing 5 5
1 3
10
4 7 Seolma-ri
2 2 7
6 12
Hill 148 -
Castle Site Jeokseong Hill 235 -
KEY EVENTS Gloster Hill

22 APRIL
The ‘fighting patrol’ makes contact with the Chinese
187th division at Gloster Crossing (1 - 11.30 pm) and 187th
Division penetrates A Company’s perimeter
(2 - 12.00am).
23 APRIL
Air reconnaissance reports thousands of Chinese troops attacking A and
D companies (3 - 8 am) and Lieutenant-Colonel Carne orders A/1 GLOS
to retreat to Hill 235 under covering fire from D Company (4) then D
Company falls back (5). 24 APRIL

B Company withdraws to Hill 316 but the Chinese have occupied it; B
Company drives them off with a bayonet charge (6 - 10.45 am). Later
in the day A Eschelon is overrun and the Glosters are now surrounded
(7 - 1 pm).
The Chinese 189th Division arrives and launches attacks against B
Company through the night (8 - 11 pm).
189th Division breaks through C Company’s perimeter and Carne
orders battalion HQ and support elements up to Hill 235 (9 - 3.30
am). Between 5 am and 8 am confusion results in C Company’s
withdrawal leaving B Company in danger (10) and shortly after,
the Chinese overrun the isolated B Company (11). The remnants of
Lt. Col. Carne’s battalion consolidate on Hill 235 and will hold for
another 24 hours (12 - 10 am).

and often attack at night. They had almost no vehicles, artillery, or aircraft,
and a very limited supply train. Steep hillsides with an entrenched enemy MAILMERGE AND THE TURN BOOK
meant that firing from range had minimal effect; therefore, the Chinese relied I created a turn book so I could more easily track
on wave attacks culminating in close assaults to achieve battlefield success. the progress of the game, the reinforcements, and
The huge quantity of infantry they had available enabled them to overwhelm the events that were underway on a turn-by-turn
isolated units, no matter how determined the defence, given enough time. basis. With all that is going on at wargames shows,
having a constant and consistent point of reference
Initial deployment is essential; the turn book placed all this information
on a single page of the book for each moment of the
The UN forces deploy fully on the table in their historical positions, dug in battle. The page only got flipped when a new turn
on five different hilltops either side of route 5Y. A forward stand is placed begins; at this point all players can refer to it and see
adjacent to Gloster Crossing, waiting in ambush. battlefield conditions, reinforcements, and events that
The Chinese troops all begin off the table and advance towards three specific
are applicable.

crossing points over the Imjin according to a fixed reinforcement schedule. Over my career in IT, I managed to pick up some
useful skills, but I never guessed I’d put them to use
Managing the battle tracking the events of this battle! I put what would
happen in the 36 turns of the battle into 36 rows
I read a number of books on the battle to better understand what happened, of a spreadsheet and used mailmerge to import the
ultimately relying on Andrew Salmon’s To The Last Round: The Epic British information into my word processing software. From
Stand on the Imjin River, Korea 1951 as my definitive source. The timings there, I could print a label for the UN and Chinese
of events in battle are not always easy to establish; the Glosters’ War Diary forces for each turn.
was destroyed before it could be captured, and Chinese perspectives on the
battle are not readily available in English; so the exact Chinese formations,
locations, advances, and casualties I made were very much estimates. I
created a spreadsheet with columns for Gloster companies, the artillery, and
Right: The beats
Chinese divisions - each row represented a turn in the battle, and as I read of the battle were
through the book, I noted events and timings. This provided the basis for the recorded in a simple
reinforcement schedule and the action, which was then transferred to a turn turn book.
book I created (see above).

67
 BATTLE BEGINS AT PARTIZAN
The board debuted at Partizan, where
I ran it as a participation game; some
players stayed for a couple of turns,
whilst others played for a couple of
hours. In all, about twelve different
players contributed to the game, and
I was able to speak to many show
attendees, including a man whose father
had fought in the battle.
The game played out very well; we
completed 19 turns and advanced the
action well beyond where I had hoped.
The on-table results were very satisfying,
resulting in a game that played out
very closely to the historical battle.
The Glosters proved very resilient in
defence, whilst the Chinese undertook
repeated assaults and flowed around the
flanks, threatening to envelop the Gloster Above: Chinese crossing the Imjin in daylight come under air attack.
positions.
The hard work and the contouring really
paid off because it became clear as the
battle unfolded why certain positions
were key. When presented with the
scaled down historical objectives and
terrain, players responded similarly to
the historical commanders even if they
had no idea what action had been taken
in 1951.
I was honoured and delighted to
be awarded the prize for the best
participation game at the show; the glass
trophy now has pride of place in my
hobby space, and the board has traveled
on to Phalanx and the Joy of Six. The Above: A turn underway at Partizan.
game was nearly completed at Jo6 with
Below: The Chinese and British trade fire across the paddy fields.
the Glosters still holding on. The battle
ran pretty much historically and the
objective cards, with their historical
objectives, were a great guide for the
players.
The rules recreate the battle very well but
I have found that Chinese players tend to
be more cautious and careful than their
leaders were historically. A company was
attacked very hard in the show games
while less effort was expended by the
Chinese on D company. This results
in higher casualties on A but lower
casualties on D. The overall effect was
roughly the same; the Chinese captured
one hilltop but not the other and they
did it at roughly the same time they did
historically.
I’ll tour a lot more shows with my game.
It should be at Claymore, the other
Partizan, Fiasco, Warfare, Vapnartak,
Hammerhead, and (fingers crossed)
Salute. I’ll start over again at the next
show and begin the three show cycle
again. Come over and join in if you’re
attending any of these shows!

68
 BUILDING
BISCARI AIRFIELD -
SICILY 1943

Above: The game in progress at Partizan, May 2022. In the scenario, the
Italian garrison deploys on the upper edge, with the Germans on the lower
one, while the American attack develops from right corner (or southwest
on the actual terrain).

Anschluss Wargames’ Peter

(Bunny) Warren takes us through
the build process for this detailed
12mm scale demo game made for
Partizan, May 2022.
After significant interest in our Panzer
Lehr demonstration game last Salute
[see Wargames Illustrated 409 for more
on that meticulously researched and
beautifully presented table - Ed], we at
Anschluss decided to create something
new for Partizan, May 2022; our choice
was the action at Biscari Airfield, July
1943, between US armoured infantry and
a coalition of Italian and German units.
As with our previous board, we’d focus
on making an accurate representation of
the battle in 12mm scale. All elements
were built or sculpted by Peter Heath,
Nigel Roberts, and I (all from Anschluss
Wargames), and we hope that by showing
our build process (in condensed form),
Above: The Italian garrison defend the area around the hangar. The infantry models seen on the
readers will be inspired to create their
table are by Pendraken. The vehicles are from a variety of different manufacturers.
own detailed gaming tables.

70
 Okay,
it
Warfa s not exactly
re, D
techniq but a lot of th esert
ues are e
GETTING STARTED - THE GROUND the sam modelling
e!

The base board for the terrain layout was a complete 8' x 4' sheet
of 100mm thick, high-density, polystyrene insulating board. This
was an expensive start; even after shopping around hardware
stores for this stuff, it was a decent chunk of change, but our
previous experience, building the terrain for Salute, had showed
Once this was done, the roads and tracks were roughly marked
out using low adhesion masking tape (3), and woodland and
orchards were placed (4) to check everything would fit and
look correct.
Once satisfied with placement, the upper surface of the board

WARFARE
DESERT
us that this type and thickness of board provided good strength
was then given a liberal coat of ‘grass’ green emulsion paint over
and rigidity while being an excellent material for carving and
the masking tape, and once dry, the tape was removed to reveal
sculpting detail into.
the untouched roads (5).
To create an accurate representation of the scenario’s terrain, a
The roads and tracks were shaped and recessed with a sharp craft
30cm grid was faintly pencilled onto the foam’s upper surface
knife before having gentle texturing applied with a Dremel mini
(1) and cross-referenced with a photo of key elements of the
airfield and surrounding area. Our own miniature representations
tool and a toothbrush-sized wire brush (6). Once the shaping
was complete, the roads and tracks were given a coat of paint
of these elements were then placed within the grid and
to define them (7), and woodland areas were highlighted with a
photographed (2) so that we had a scale reference to work from
throughout the project.
contrasting green shade (8).

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

BROKEN STONE BOUNDARY WALLS

These little details, randomly placed around orchard areas, couldn’t be simpler to make. We built the wall with potting gravel, then toned down
the stark brightness and added weathering with the application of highly diluted khaki acrylic paint.

71
 RECESSING FEATURES AND ADDING FOLIAGE AND TEXTURE
We carved areas in which to locate a hangar (9) and aircraft
parking revetments (10) that we’d previously built. They sat
flush with the board and would be more stable during gameplay
(11). The pond, located at the eastern end of the airfield, was also
carved in, then painted (12).
The next step was the application of materials to simulate the
rough and rocky terrain of 1943 Sicily. A muted mix of scenic
flock and coarse builders’ sand was liberally applied to the board
using a generous coat of PVA glue (13).
9 10
12 13
15
72
The next step was to position bomb craters. These were added
randomly across the airfield, with the alignment of the ‘stick’
of impacts corresponding with two craters already built into the
revetment modules. Care must be taken to not make craters too
large or deep here; these simulate 500lb General Purpose bombs
dropped on hard rocky terrain (14).
To finish off the texturing, the actual aircraft operating surface
had to be applied. Because it had been subjected to intensive
bombing, we decided to use a mix of fine gravel and muted
green flock (15) to simulate a frequently repaired surface (16).
11
14
16
 TOP TIPS

• Peel the thermal foil from both sides of the insulating board before starting
to work with it. We initially left the foil on the underside but discovered it was
causing warping and needed to be stripped.
• Choose your adhesives carefully. Glue and paint must be water based or it can
melt the surface of the foam!
• Be very careful how much pressure you apply with your Dremel when carving
into the foam, or you may end up accidentally creating ‘craters’ or melting the
board with the heat that the friction creates.
• Use cheap emulsion paint, rather than expensive specialist hobby products, to
lay down the basecoats on big areas of your board.
• When you shake loose scatter off the board, it is useful to retain the leftovers
for patching work and ‘blending in’ terrain features later in the build.
• Regularly place figures on the board to check scale.

Right: Vehicles were placed running down the road to

check things looked correctly scaled in the build.

FINER DETAILING
With the basic structure of the airfield now ready, we began adding more refined features. These are the elements that can really set
your board apart from others and can enhance the historical accuracy.

20mm AA positions were painted off board

Camouflaged ammo stores nestled by a small wood.
then fixed into recesses routed into the terrain.

A crashed Fiat fighter with its nose More defined road surfaces were added in some areas to
submerged in the pond’s water effects. change the tone; made with different texturing products.

73
 Muddying up the tracks that wind through the sun-baked ground. Loose scrub was added to areas of rough ground.

Dispersed aircraft were placed around the open woods

Pre-made trees were positioned on blocks of card
on the perimeter of the airfield, and additional vignettes,
before their final insertion into drilled holes.
including servicing equipment, were then placed for effect.

ADDING DAMAGE

Our hangar base was already

showing (intentional) damage
when we added it to the board,
so we surrounded it with debris
to give it a sense of place.
Adding the same basing mix
as was used on the revetments
helped it further blend into the
surrounding terrain.

Further detail was added to the

board with various damaged aircraft
decoys - picked from a large
selection of bits from old kits -
placed alongside the perimeter track.

74
As an additional interest point, we added a couple
of very small terrain features that were completely
out of place and could not have been found at
Biscari in 1943; these historical anachronisms are
an Anschluss tradition and intended to encourage
visitors to look more closely.
We intend to display this game in November at
Warfare in Reading, so I will not reveal what these
details are just yet. Come along and see if you
can find them yourself; in the meantime, here’s
a look at a tiny satellite dish we snuck onto our
Salute Panzer Lehr board instead to give you an
idea of just how eagle-eyed you might need to be.
Hopefully we’ll see you in Reading!

THE SETTING PLAY IT YOURSELF

Biscari Airfield, located at the small village of Santo Pietro in southeast Sicily, was The scenario for the game, along with
originally a little-used emergency landing ground. It was taken over, extended, and 19 other lesser known and seldom
developed by the Luftwaffe and became a major operational airfield for their fighters and played battles from the region, can be
dive-bombers from the start of 1942 through to the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943. found in our book, Forgotten Battles
from Operation Husky: The Invasion of
The surface consisted of levelled agricultural land and fields measuring approximately Sicily, July 1943.
1280 x 730 meters; there was no paved runway, although some indications are that
construction work on one may have started. The infrastructure had repair facilities for
fighters and dive-bombers, some small buildings and huts at the northeast corner, a large
building 180 meters north of the northern corner, and two long barrack-type huts adjacent
to that large building (off table).
The four dispersal areas - Northeast, Southwest, South, and Northwest - had a total of
around fifty open aircraft shelters; at the beginning of 1943, there were four heavy Flak
sites with 16 gun positions and 17 light Flak sites with 54 gun positions.
On 4 June 1943, a station strength report gave 82 aircraft at Biscari, but it was bombed
frequently between then and 14 July 1943, when the US 45th Infantry Division attacked
the reduced strength airfield.
The name of Biscari Airfield might seem familiar, even if you don’t know of the battle
itself; that’s probably because of the war crimes committed after the combat was done. US
troops killed more than 70 unarmed prisoners-of-war in what would become known as the
Biscari Massacre, one of the Allies’ most notorious moments in WWII.

75
 2022
Show Report
Are you a 6mm evangelist? Maybe you are scale
agnostic and as long as you have a good game you
don’t care how big or small your figures are. Perhaps
you scoff at the thought of gaming below 15mm?
The Joy of Six (Jo6) event organised by Baccus6mm
and held every year in Sheffield, England, aims to
cater for the former, convince the latter, and appeal
to… the one in the middle. Wi Editor Dan was
invited to join the panellists on the industry Q&A at
this year’s event (WiPrime Members can read about
that our website), and whilst there, he grabbed the
opportunity to point his camera in the direction of
some of the games that piqued his interest and find
out a bit about them.
76
CHAERONEA 338BC
Fought in the foothills of Mount Thurion in Central Greece, the Battle of
Chaeronea was the culmination of Philip II’s campaign of Macedonian
expansion between 339 and 338 BC. Philip’s Macedonians and their allies
were arrayed against warriors from Athens, Thebes, Corinth, and other Greek
city states. Although casualties were light on both sides, Philip’s victory was
decisive and secured his hold on a great swathe of ancient Greece.
This game was being played by members of the Society of Ancients using Big
Battle DBA. If you search for that online, you will find an article by Bob Beattie
on how to go about expanding the 1990s most popular wargames rules (DBA)
into a ‘fully-fledged wargame’ by increasing the number of figures involved and
using three commands, with twelve elements per command.
The figure were all Baccus6mm from their Macedonian and Successors range.
THE BATTLE OF LUND 1676
Underlining the many different periods being gamed at Jo6, this battle from
the Scanian War of the later 17th Century had some eye catching snowy
terrain accurately representing the landscape of southern Sweden, home to Per

SHow report
Broden, the board’s creator. The Swedish attackers were honing their aggressive
battlefield tactics at this point in history, and the game saw them push back the
Danish and Dutch defenders to the east of the town, where they eventually broke.
This game was played using the Pike and Shot Society’s scale agnostic Twilight
of the Sun King rules, in which all measurements are relative to the base width
of the units. Movement distances, weapon ranges, etc, are then multiples of
whatever base width is being used. Therefore, any size of figure and also any
basing scheme can be used with the rules.
The figures used were all Baccus6mm from
their Wars of the Sun King range.

SUDAN DEATH 1884

A British supply column was battling its way towards a besieged
Sudanese town in this modified 6mm version of Osprey’s The Men
Who Would be Kings rules. Along the way, they were being harassed
by Mahdist cavalry and ambushed by Ansar warriors. The British
players were cooperating against the umpire with the object of accruing
victory points by getting the baggage and supplies safely into the town.
Random card activation was being used rather than MWWBK standard
I-go-you-go system.
The interesting battlemat is by Tiny Wargames. It’s their standard desert
mat with bespoke elements of a track, and the carpet design around the
edge - with the name of the game emblazoned on it.
The figures used were (again!) Baccus6mm, the town was by Irregular
Miniatures, and the gunboat was 3D printed.

77
 HORSELL COMMON 1895
“Over Horsell Common the steam and smoke was slowly lifting, marching in an unnatural manner, the Martian machines push through
all obstacles.…” So declared the info sheet on this interesting looking table - the only one at the show with a science fiction theme.
Based on H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, the game used home brew rules by the Maidenhead and District Gamers, with figures by
Pendraken, Baccus6mm, and Perfect Six, along with buildings by Leven.

ROB’S SCENICS
In time honoured wargames show fashion, there were several traders
plying their wares around the edge of the rooms at Jo6. One that
caught my eye was Rob’s Scenics, who were selling great looking 20th
Century 6mm buildings and terrain at great looking prices. Proprietor
Rob told me he takes commercially available resin buildings (from a
variety of manufacturers), paints them, then mounts them in a ‘scenic
setting’, making them instantly tabletop ready. Rob uses various lengths
and breadths of vinyl floor tile to create his roads and smaller bases.
Other innovative materials he uses include dinner table place mats
(made from vinyl and cork) for large scenic bases and carpet tiles to
create field sections. Artistry and usability in equal measure.
You can contact Rob via email on robowens49@gmail.com

DENMARK 1985
Despite the impressive look of
mobile armour crossing the table
in 6mm, there were very few
20th Century games at Jo6. But
there was this beast of a ‘cold
war gone hot’ game by The Cold
War Commanders, who (no
surprise!) game using the Cold
War Commander rules.
Eighteen feet long, with some
great looking terrain, the
creation of which has formed an
ongoing construction project for
the group over the last ten years,
the Cold War Commanders were
out to show that the look of the
table can be just as exciting as
the gameplay itself.

78
THE BATTLE OF LITTLE BIG HORN 1876
Going big in 6mm means lots more of the historical battlefield
can be represented on the tabletop. So, rather than just the
area around Custer’s Last Stand, Dan Hodgson of Reveille
Painting Services was able to cover Last Stand Hill, the Sioux
and Cheyenne villages, and the Reno-Benteen Battlefield on
his impressive Little Big Horn table.
Dan is a big fan of Kallistra’s hex terrain system and their
Hordes and Heroes rules (see his Battle of Pelennor Fields
game in Wi368), and he was using both at Jo6.
The figures used were Baccus6mm from their Pony Wars
Range, with the wigwams coming from Irregular Miniatures.

SAME AGAIN NEXT YEAR?

The Joy of Six is going from strength to strength, thanks
to the hard work of Pete Berry of Baccus6mm and the
enthusiasm of the individuals and groups presenting the
games (many of which we didn’t get chance to squeeze in
here). It has carved out an neat little niche in the UK show
scene, and long may it continue.

79
 THE BATTLE
OF NEW ROSS
Pete Brown presents a battle fought in a free form style...
In the last issue, I wrote an article about
Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, the
founders of Dungeons and Dragons,
who began their gaming careers as
wargamers. As published rules were
rare back in those days, the majority of
people wargamed using ‘home brewed’
rules or highly amended versions of what
was available. This usually required the
use of an Umpire to settle the inevitable
arguments that such a loose approach was
bound to throw up. Over time, the role
of the Umpire changed from being that
of an impartial referee to one of being
a storyteller who directly influenced
the game; introducing unexpected
reinforcements, unusual events, or
‘battlefield friction’ as it tends to be
called now. The presence of an Umpire
also allowed the players to think outside
the rules and encouraged imaginative
play. Players were also encouraged to
roleplay their characters, be it aristocratic
noblemen, traitors, grizzled veterans, or
80
5 JUNE 1798
newly promoted Colonels, and ask not BACKGROUND TO THE BATTLE
“what do I want to do?” but rather “what
For our setting, we head back to the 1798
Irish Rebellion. In County Wexford,
would my character do?” As you can
imagine, it was only a small step to leave
the rebels had been initially successful,
the armies behind and just play with
seizing the town of Wexford as well
the characters, and before you know it,
as most of the surrounding towns and
modern roleplay games were born.
villages. However, if they were to take
Whilst Umpired games are nothing the rebellion into the rest of the country,
new in wargaming, and nor are games they needed to seize the bridge at New
Ross. Bagenal Harvey, a leading figure
where the Umpire throws a spanner in
in the Rebellion, had been in prison in
the works to keep the players on their
toes, the idea of free form gaming (or Wexford gaol for agitating against the
making it up on the spot) is rather less crown, and upon his release, he was
elected leader of the army that would
common. Our players tend to work
within the framework of what is and isn’t march on New Ross.
possible within the rules, and coming up
The Irish army set off, “moving with
with a bright idea that is not covered is
slow but irresistible progress”, said one
usually met with blank looks and polite
observer, “like an immense body of
refusal. Always one for a challenge, I
lava.” Numbering over 20,000 people,
decided to try this form of gaming out
the army was more like a travelling fair
on two unsuspecting victims [surely
than a military formation, with music
‘willing volunteers’? - Ed] at Wargames
playing, children running around, and
Illustrated HQ.
men and women walking along together,
 HORSE & MUSKET
1700 - 1800
smoking pipes, drinking whiskey, and North gate alongside the river. There confident that enough would turn up to
playing instruments. On the night of the were only two buildings of note: the defeat the much smaller garrison. His
4 June, they were camped on Corbet Hill, Government barracks, which contained a plan was for three columns to attack three
overlooking the town of New Ross, so great deal of powder, ball, and arms, and of the town’s gates simultaneously and
close in fact that the garrison there could was also Johnson’s fall back point; and hence stretch the defenders.
hear the music and the laughter from the the abbey next to the North gate, which
THE BATTLE OF NEW ROSS
assembled masses. had a defensible wall around its grounds.
Here Johnson placed some of his men to
Meanwhile, inside New Ross, the
Dawn broke about 4am, and Bagenal
control the entrance and road through the Harvey, in an attempt to take the town
garrison commander, General Henry
North gate. He placed his artillery with
Johnson, was confident of success. His
peacefully, sent an emissary forward
clear fields of fire along the streets and with a white flag to discuss terms. The
small garrison of Clare and Donegal
placed his cavalry in reserve. emissary, Matt Furlong, got within a short
Militia and a company of Tyrone
distance of the South East gate before a
Fencibles had been reinforced by the Bagenal Harvey called his commanders
sentry shot him dead. This infuriated the
arrival of Colonel Luke Gardiner; Lord together for a council of war the night
Rebels waiting to attack, who immediately
Mountjoy, with two companies of the before the battle. Most of his men (and, it
surged forward, out of the control of their
Dublin Militia; and a troop of Dragoons, has to be said, most of his commanders)
commander, John Kelly. The rebels at this
bringing his total force to a little over had been drinking looted whiskey all
gate had gathered cattle from surrounding
2,000 men. Along with six guns, Johnson afternoon, and the numbers of men who
fields and drove them in front to soak up
was confident as he believed that well-led would be fit for action the following day
some of the Government fire. However,
formed troops could hold off an ill- was doubtful. However, Harvey was
the cattle veered off when they saw
disciplined rabble. Some of the loyalist
residents of New Ross offered their help,
and rather than arm the motley bunch
of about 100 volunteers, he set them to
digging trenches at the main entrance
points to the town.
New Ross used to be a walled town with
defensible gates, but after Cromwell’s
controversial visit to Ireland, the walls
had been neglected. Much of the stone
was stolen for housing, and the gates
had been widened to allow more wagon
traffic to come and go. This meant that,
whilst the walls that surrounded the town
still posed an obstacle, the various gates
could not be closed and would have to
be defended. To that end, Johnson dug
trenches at the South East (Three Bullet)
gate, and barricaded the South (Priory)
gate, the East (market) gate, and the

81
 the trenches and did not crash into the
Government lines but did provide just
enough cover for the Rebels to become
engaged, and a vicious melee broke out at
the South East gate.
The Rebel second column was slow to
arrive as its commander, Father Philip
Roche, had fallen asleep on his horse
and was only roused by the sounds of
battle. He eventually attacked through
the East gate and quickly drove back the
Government defenders. The rebel third
column, for reasons that never became
entirely clear, had marched off home and
these troops played no part in the battle.
By now, Johnson had managed to
stabilise the attack on the East (Market)
gate and push back the original attack
on the South East (Three Bullet) gate.
However, disaster now struck. Somehow, Above: “She’s stopped boys! She’s stopped!” A famous incident from the battle, illustrated by
the cavalry appeared to have received George Cruikshank.
an order to advance, although it is not
in the narrow streets, and yet the Rebels decisive. The first fell off its carriage as
clear from whom. As a result, they came
ran up to the mouths of the guns with soon as it was fired, and the second was
charging out of the South East gate in
extraordinary bravery. In one famous put out of action after only a couple of
the hope of taking the retreating rebels
incident, one of the rebels made it to shots when the makeshift crew accidently
from the rear. However, the rebels turned
the Government gun and shoved his hat fired it whilst their instructor was loading
and quickly formed a hedge of pikes
and wig down the barrel. Turning to his it! When the pressed Government
that effectively destroyed the attacking
comrades, he shouted: “She’s stopped prisoner fired his gun deliberately high,
cavalry, with their commander and 28
boys! She’s stopped!” Seconds later, he he turned to his captors and said: ”Was
men killed and many others wounded.
was blown to smithereens. that not a fine shot?” to which the man
The Dragoons routed back through
next to him said: “This is a better one”
the town followed by the victorious Bagenal Harvey now tried to bring up
rebels, who had now been joined by
and shot him in the head. All three guns
his own artillery to oppose the effective
were thus effectively neutralised without
reinforcements from their camp. government fire. The Rebels had captured
doing any damage to the enemy.
several pieces of artillery when they
Sensing victory, the rebels swept through
took Wexford but had no trained crews With the town on fire, Lord Mountjoy
the streets, seizing the military barracks
to man them. They placed one ship gun shot dead by a stray bullet, and many
and distributing the weapons and powder
on a makeshift carriage, whilst another of his troops in full retreat, Johnson
stored there. The Government forces fell
was manned by a Government deserter pulled his men back, thinking the battle
back toward the bridge where the cavalry,
who gave his crew ‘on the job’ training.
still in full flight, had met Government
lost. However, as the rebels seized the
A third was manned by a Government town, they fell to drinking and looting
reinforcements coming from Dublin, who
prisoner pressed into service. Suffice and neglected to secure the remainder
turned around thinking all was lost. The
to say, none of these guns proved to be of the streets. In what became the third
Government artillery did great execution

House of Death
In an alleyway off the main
road from the North gate lived a
Government loyalist named Mr
Dowsley, who was hiding in his
home along with his two sons,
three friends, and an old soldier.
They had their muskets loaded
for them by the women folk
of the family, and as the rebels
ducked into their alleyway for
shelter from the Government
artillery and volleys, the Dowsley
family would shoot them. After
the battle, it was said that the
rebel dead lay as high as the sills
of the windows.

Above: From our refight - Dan’s Irish make their way along Priory Street and take the
Government barricades.

82
 phase of the battle, Johnson was able to
rally his men and bring back the Dublin
reinforcements before leading them in
a counter-attack into the town. By this
stage, the rebels were exhausted and
quickly gave way under this renewed
attack. By evening, the town, much
of which was on fire with the streets
full of dead and wounded, was back in
Government hands.
REFIGHTING NEW ROSS
New Ross is an ideal battle for a free
form game. There are so many unusual
occurrences (the Rebel columns being
late or not turning up, the wagon full
of whiskey, the ill fated cavalry charge,
etc.) that a normal set of rules could not
possibly cover every twist and turn. It is
also a battle that either side could have
won, and is exactly the kind of to-and-fro
encounter that might reward imaginative
thinking or ‘thinking outside the rules’.
And so it was that on a rainy day in
Nottingham, John Stallard of Warlord
Games took on the role of General
Henry Johnson in an attempt to hold the
town of New Ross for the Government
and to drive off the dastardly rebels
[surely: brave revolutionaries? - Ed]
who were led by none other than Wi
Editor Dan Faulconbridge. Briefings*
were provided to both commanders
outlining the troops they had at their
disposal, the initial plan (if there was
one), and their objective, which was
Bridge
W
N
s
E
south
Gate
*Available online, along with the Orders of Battle.
The Whiskey Wagon
A group of rebels encountered a wagon loaded with whiskey and port wine
that was being evacuated to safety by the landlord of an Inn. They immediately
dragged it into a high ditch and set about the contents with vigour, only
pausing from time to time to stagger to the lip of the ditch to enquire: “How
goes the day boys?” before returning to their work.
essentially to control the bridge on the form game, it pays to plan in advance
west side of the town by the end of the and to think through some of the things
game. I also explained that, although your players are likely to ask to do. You
we were using Black Powder rules for can then rough out your responses and
combat, movement, and so on, this was a at least have an idea of how this would
free form game and that the commanders affect the game. Fortunately for me,
could attempt to do anything that their so many odd and unusual things had
historical counterparts could have done, happened in this battle historically that
and more. Barrels, wagons, and similar I had a starting point. I created a set of
street furniture was scattered about the events that would happen to the Rebel
town and I had placed a herd of cattle side (the third column not turning up, the
close to the South East gate. Also in the events around the artillery, and so on)
town, was a whiskey wagon, which the with a similar set of events happening for
Government commander was aware of. the Government forces. I decided that the
The willing volunteers of the loyalist Cavalry’s mistaken charge order would
population were also mentioned in the happen the first time the Government
Government briefing. player rolled a ‘Blunder’, with Lord
Mountjoy being killed should another
DO YOUR HOMEWORK
‘Blunder’ occur, and so on. These events
There is an old adage that says that fell in line with historical events but were
the best way to make anything look not all guaranteed to happen as some,
spontaneous is through lots and lots of such as the wounding of John Kelly or
preparation. If you are going to run a free the death of Lord Mountjoy, were just
bad luck on the day. Others, such as the
Market
Gate
Turn 1 of our refight. The
Rebels are making their way
into New Ross via the Market
(north-east) and South Gates.
The Government forces are
standing ready.
Road to
Wexford
83
 rebel ship’s gun falling off its carriage,
were definitely going to happen! I had
Umpire Only: Planned Rebel Events
prepared rules for the cattle stampede
and the use of barricades just in case the The Artillery: The first time the ship’s gun fires, it will become dislodged from
players decided to use them, and to be its carriage and is removed. The first time the gun staffed by the Royal Artillery
honest, I felt quite comfortable as the prisoner misses, the Rebels will assume he did it on purpose and shoot him in
game began. the head, as happened historically. The first time the third gun rolls a 1 or a 2
NEW NEW ROSS BEGINS! when firing, the Government deserter is assumed to have been injured by his
incompetent crew and the gun is removed.
John began by putting his loyalist
volunteers to work, building three The Secret Weapon: The secret weapon that will disable Government artillery
barricades to defend the South East gate. is, of course, the brave individual who stuffs his hat and wig down the barrel
He had convinced himself that, since the and shouts: “She’s stopp’d boys!” She is, in fact, not stopped, and the gun can
Rebels were on a hill to the south east, fire as usual.
that would be their most likely route of Irish Arrival on Board: The first brigade arrives on turn 1, moving down the
attack, and he placed pretty much all his south east road. The second brigade (Roche) will not arrive (Roche is asleep on
forces to defend this road. The cavalry his horse) until the player rolls a number lower on a D6 than the current turn or
remained near the bridge as a reserve, but takes steps to rectify this. The third brigade never arrives - they have all gone
John left all the other roads into the town home. Ask the player to roll 2D6, look thoughtful, then tell them the men are
undefended and, crucially, not barricaded. on the way (they aren’t). The reserves will turn up when the Umpire decides
Although he had contemplated doing they will have most dramatic effect.
something with the Innkeeper’s wagon of
liquor, John decided not to do anything Irish Blunders!: If any of the Irish commanders roll a Blunder when giving
with it, and it remained in place in one of orders, play these out as detailed in the rules. However, if John Kelly (first
the streets. In a historical turnaround, he brigade) rolls a Blunder, he is hit and seriously wounded and is removed from
then sent a messenger under a white flag the game.
to demand a parley with the rebel leader,
which I allowed as historically Bagenal
Harvey was desperate for just such an
exchange. However, whilst Dan and
John got into character and exchanged
demands, no compromise could be
reached and the battle commenced!
Seeing the valley of death that John
had created down the south east road,
Dan ordered his first brigade to skirt
the town and come in down the south
road alongside the river, much to John’s
consternation with cries of “typical
shoddy rebel trick.” This consternation
was not helped when Dan began to roll
for the arrival of rebel columns down the
east and north roads as well.

Above: Father Phillip Roche leads his rebel column forward.

84
The Umpire now informed Dan that
his second column on the east road had
stalled because their commander was
asleep on his horse, and that there was, as
yet, no sign of the north column. Seeing
an opportunity, John sent an order to his
cavalry to charge up the east road and
take the stalled column at the halt. This
they did with great elan, and in a replay
of history, came routing back down the
road having had a nasty encounter with a
pike block! Meanwhile, John desperately
began to redeploy his troops to meet the
encircling enemy.
Dan’s first brigade had now entered the
board through the south gate, and due
to some terrible Government command
dice, seized a barricade John had erected
before John’s men could reach it. In a
bit of free form play, Dan ordered the Above: Free form fighting in the buildings along Market Street.
musket men from each pike block to man
the barricade, whilst the plucky pikemen
continued along the quayside toward the
bridge. I thought this was reasonable and
separated out the muskets as small units
with 1 stamina and 1 firing dice each
and reduced the Pike to 2 stamina and 6
melee dice with no firing capacity.
roche awakenS and
fiGhtinG intenSifieS
Father Philip Roche, commander of the
Irish second brigade, had now woken up
and was leading his forces onto the board
down the east road. John had managed to
get some of his troops into position to fire
on the rebels just in the nick of time to
disorder one pike block and cause quite
a few casualties. Helped by the return of
the rallied Dragoons, John then charged
the shaken pike block in the flank and
drove it back, blunting the rebel attack
Above: The Rebels make their way along Priory Street toward the Bridge - their objective.

Umpire only: Planned Government Events

Government Arrival on Board: All the Government units begin on board with the exception of the Roscommon Regiment,
which should arrive when the Umpire decides the Government forces need the help!
Government Blunders!: The first time a Government
player rolls a Blunder, the cavalry (whether they
are under his command or not) receive an order
to charge the nearest Irish unit, which they must
execute immediately (unless they have already moved
or charged, in which case this will be done at the
beginning of the next round). On the second occasion
the Government roll a Blunder, Colonel Lord Mountjoy
is hit by a stray bullet and killed. The Government
player is allowed to play on without a Brigade
commander.
The Dowsley Household: Mr Dowsley was hiding in
his home along with his two sons, three friends, and an
old soldier, their muskets being loaded for them by the
women folk. The Umpire should identify which house
is Dowsley’s and roll a D6 for firing every time Rebels
pass it, inflicting casualties as normal.

85
 Umpire only: Potential Player Options
Barricades: General Johnson ordered the loyalists from the town to dig trenches to guard the north and the east gates. This
may not occur to the players, but dragging furniture from houses and commandeering wagons or boxes and barrels to block
a road or a gate very well might occur. This should be allowed, with every Government unit that wishes to being allowed to
create one barricade across one street or gate. Troops behind barricades count as ‘Not Clear’ targets if shot at and will gain
+1 on Morale Save for being behind light cover. Note that if they lose a round of melee, the benefit from the cover is lost as
they are assumed to have been pushed back.
The whiskey wagon: Any Rebel unit encountering the whiskey wagon is assumed to start drinking and is removed from the
game.
The cattle: Historically, the Rebels tried to stampede some cattle in front of them into the Government lines, but this failed
due to the trenches dug by Government forces that forced the cattle to turn. The Umpire should place some cows in the
eastern fields so that the Rebel commanders can see them, but do not suggest the tactic to them. If one of your players says
they want to drive the cattle in, they may be allowed to do so, spending one move rounding them up before ordering the
charge. If the Government troops have dug trenches or raised barricades, then the ploy fails as it did historically. If they have
not, then reward the Irish player by inflicting 1 stamina damage to the Government unit the cattle crashes into and do not
allow that unit to fire at Rebels in that turn as the cattle mask their fire.
The barracks: This building was full of muskets, powder, and ammunition. If the Rebels take the building, the Rebel player
can choose to swap one of his pike units for a musket unit. If the unit taking the building is already a musket unit, then it
gains 3 firing dice for the rest of the game rather than 2.
Fire! Fire!: The Rebels actually did start fires in the town during the battle that burned much of it down! If a player wishes
to start a fire there will be no trouble in doing so as the houses have mostly thatched roofs. Use the rules on page 99 of the
rulebook for how units can start a fire. If a house does catch fire, roll every turn for the adjacent houses to see if they catch
fire as well.

Above: The Rebels are waylaid by the whiskey wagon!

86
and forcing Dan to fall back to regroup.
With casualties mounting, both sides now
began to put their troops into buildings to
make them harder to hit and also to bolster
their morale. On Market Street (from
where Father Philip Roche’s column had
entered); this resulted in some free form
fighting through the internal walls of some
of the house.
Dan was now resigned to the fact that his
third brigade was never going to arrive
through the north gate, but consoled
himself in the knowledge that some of
the rebels had finally reached the bridge!
However, Father Roche’s brigade was
now falling back, whilst his musket men
manning the barricades by the south gate
were taking a hammering from John’s
artillery. Given that John’s force was
looking in remarkably good shape, I
thought this was a good time for Dan’s
reserve troops from Corbet Hill to arrive
along with his remaining guns, which they
now did down the south east road.
calamitouS caniSter fire
Unfortunately for Dan, John was able
to swing his artillery back into position
and deliver devastating canister fire into
the massed ranks of the pike blocks as
they charged down the narrow streets.
Dan’s ‘secret weapon’ to defeat the
cannon (sticking a hat down the barrel)
surprisingly did not work, whilst his own
cannon fell apart in quick order! The pike
block he sent from the bridge to support
Below: The Rebels have taken
the Bridge, but can they hold it?
Father Roche’s attack encountered the
Whiskey Wagon and was removed as
his men stopped for a well earned drink,
whilst Father Roche’s command finally
succumbed to casualties and broke.
With Roche’s brigade broken, the first
brigade about to break, the reserves badly
bloodied, and John’s reinforcements yet
to arrive, it was all up for the rebels. In
a close re-run of history, the rebels took
the bridge, but the volleys of the regulars
wore down the Irish commands, and they
eventually broke under the pressure.
CONCLUSION
Taking a free form approach to this
game was great fun for the Umpire. As
expected, rather than being an impartial
arbiter of the rules, I was actually involved
in the game, making key decisions about
reinforcements, who could move where,
and what happened when the players
decide to do something ‘off script’.
Chatting to the players afterwards
revealed that trying to play a game
without thinking about the rules was more
difficult than they expected. John, who
not surprisingly knows the Black Powder
rules very well, was constantly thinking
in terms of command dice, the best firing
ranges, and so on, rather than perhaps
the more random things (like putting the
whiskey wagon where the rebels could
find it, building more barricades, etc).
Dan was more open to ‘thinking outside
the rules’, which he did in the approach
to battle, but once the fighting began in
the narrow streets, he quickly ran out of
options beyond than shoot and charge.
From an Umpire’s perspective, I thought it
went well. The various surprises I dropped
on both commanders were fun, and we
all enjoyed the game. If I was going to
change anything, it would be to restrict
the players from using the houses for
cover. I had wanted this to be a running
battle through the streets, with units
falling back and then counter attacking
the way their historical counterparts had
done. However, as soon as units began
to be bloodied, John and Dan started to
put them into buildings. Anyone who
has played Black Powder will know
that getting troops out of buildings is
extremely difficult, and this began to bog
the game down in Stalingrad style house-
to-house fighting. I did not insist players
stay out of the houses; it is difficult to
tell players that this is a free form game
in which they can do anything they like
and then in the next breath tell them ,“you
can’t do that!” but with more preparation
I could have come up with other ways to
force them back onto the streets.
Overall, it was great fun for all involved.
Free form games with lots of Umpire
involvement and unexpected ‘battlefield
friction’ will not suit everybody and may
not be suitable for every game, but it is
well worth giving it a go once in a while.
What’s the worst that could happen?
The figures seen in this article are all by
Trent Miniatures. The buildings are by a
variety of manufacturers, including Hovels
and 4Ground.
87
 Dave Taylor headed to Historicon’s
extended weekend of wargaming and
did his bit as Wi’s roving reporter.
On a hot July weekend, Historicon
returned to Lancaster, Pennsylvania,
much to the excitement of plenty of East
Coast gamers (and not a small number
of folks from across the US). The
Lancaster Convention Center was again
the site of HMGS East’s primary show,
and the teams from both organizations
did a great job after such a long break.
There were some minor issues, of
course, but this reporter heard a lot of
praise for the venue.
Much of what we’ve come to expect from
Historicon was back in place: hundreds
of great games, excellent classes from
the Hobby University (seen below),
the well-stocked vendor hall, dozens of
tournament opportunities, and even the
popular Wally’s Basement flea market.
88
In addition to all of those favorites, there
were many massive games, games played
on the floor, games played to teach others
how to run games at external venues, and
plenty of chances to grab a seat and catch
up with friends we hadn’t seen in a
few years.
Over the next few pages we will take a
look at some of my favorite games from
the show. WiPrime members get to see
an extended version of this article, with
more games to look at, and for a great
video recap of the convention visit our
friends from Little Wars at
youtube.com/c/LittleWarsTV.
HMGS East are already hard at work
planning their next event - Fall In! - and
working on a bigger and better Historicon
next year.
For more info, visit:
www.historicon.org
 SHow report
Operation Avalanche
- Salerno, 1943
GMs Josh Beck and Miles Reidy (of
the Little Wars TV team) ran this epic
amphibious landing on the Italian
mainland. The 3mm Allies and Axis
forces battled it out over scaled terrain
using the Gained by Battle rules.

Bolt Action
Tournament
Kalissa and Dave Skibicki ran Saturday’s
Bolt Action tournament for Warlord
Games and Mythicos Studios. Dave’s
spectacular tables and Kalissa’s skillful
coordination made for a smooth and
immersive experience amongst the
jungles of southeast Asia, deserts of
Northern Africa, and streets of
European villages.

89
 Blood & Plunder
Tournament
Fans of Firelock Games’ Blood and
Plunder rules were very excited to bring
their ships, boats, and crews to the show
to battle it out mid-ocean in an effort to
take home the booty!

Quest for the

Golden Sacagawea
GM Brian Leshinskie brought along
this impressive 1/100 scale naval game,
which saw fleets from Great Britain,
France, and the United States (including
Old Ironsides) searching for a chest full
of gold in the sunny Caribbean using
a modified version of the Limeys and
Slimeys ruleset.

90
 Badges?
We don’t need
no stinkin’ Badges!
GM Ivor Evans always brings some
fantastic looking games to Historicon,
and this year was no exception. In
addition to a brand new The Chicago Way
game he ran on the Saturday, Ivor ran
this Dead Man’s Hand game three times
during the show.
The buildings are all from the former
4Ground range, with additional
decoration in the way of signage,
posters, and weathering by Ivor. With
the inclusion of many pieces of smaller
scatter terrain, the town of Ford’s Canyon
had a very ‘lived-in’ feel.
In this scenario, the Bandit leader
Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Ramirez
(aka The Rat) was due to be hanged at
3:10pm. His band of renegades had
other ideas!

91
 Have Gun Will Travel
GM Doug Fisher returned to Historicon
with his fan favorite game and collection
of Wild West scenery. Rather than play
the game on a single massive table, as
we featured in Wi’s 2019 Historicon
coverage, Doug ran the game split over
four different tables, including the new
addition seen above and right -
a wall of Native cliff-dwellings.
He also ran another scenario - The Battle
of New Ulm, 1862 - which added another
gaming opportunity on the same terrain.
Watch out for a big buffalo hunt scenario
next year!

TechCommander
GMs Dave Oberting and Josh Potter
(pictured in the fez) ran demo games
of Tech Commander from Sea Dog
Game Studios throughout the show,
while getting in some additional
playtesting for the third edition due
out in the not too distant future. This
10mm scale game pits mecha of
various sizes against one another in
a dangerous futuristic setting.

92
 A Village for
the taking
GM Brad Pflugh ran this beautifully
detailed game of SAGA, which saw a
large band of Viking raiders closing in
on a Welsh village. Not only were their
sights set on the grain and livestock
around the village, they also had to
rescue one of their leaders from behind
the palisade. This would not be an
easy task as the Welsh prepared their
stubborn defenses.

The Siege of
Crema, 1160
GM Tom Sparrowhawk ran this game
simulating the final assault during the
siege of Crema by the forces of Frederick
Barbarossa in 1160. Siege towers,
ladders, and rams all raced to the walls in
an attempt to finish the six-month siege
and open the way to Milan. The expanded
foam castle walls are from Old Glory’s
Vampire range.

93
 The Battle of
Ravenna, 1512
Given the show’s theme of ‘Italian
Conflicts’, it’s no surprise that there were
more Renaissance games on display than
usual. The most stunning of these was
GM Martyn Kelly’s battle between the
French and Spanish/Papal forces on the
plains before Ravenna. Vast pike blocks,
artillery pieces, units of crossbowmen,
and plenty of cavalry fought for
supremacy several times. Martyn let me
know that the bulk of the infantry and
light cavalry were from The Assault
Group, whilst the heavy cavalry were
from Steel Fist.

94
The Atlantic Wall
We saw a number of tables from
Historicons-past, including this D-Day
game (above) from GM Greg Whitaker.
In the years since we have last seen it,
Greg has added many new miniatures,
both infantry and tanks, from the team at
Trenchworx. Updating your older table
keeps it fresh and can introduce a whole
new crowd to your game!

The Yamashiro
and the Sea
A huge fan of Test of Honour, GM David
Hill ran this game TEN times over
the course of the event. With up to 16
players in each game fighting over ships
in harbor (right), climbing the walls of
Yamashiro fort, or landing troops to take
the port, the games were fast-paced
and constant!

HMGS Next Gen!

Jim Stanton, John Spiess, and Jared
Fishman have been working very
hard over the last few years, taking
outreach to new levels. The HMGS
Next Gen team are focused not just
on running events for kids at shows,
but helping teachers, librarians, and
other community organizers to run
events where the next generation
of gamers actually are - out in the
community. Keep an eye out for
more on this group in the future!

95
 Turn your Lead to Gold!
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